Series Talk: Stanley Cup Playoffs 2024

[The Abusement Park]

While it's a marketable trait in the US it's mostly frown upon in the rest of the world, including Canada. People like humble champs.

From what I remember Jordan wasn't sold as a cocky player here.

Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably the most famous person/athlete in the world and is probably one of the cockiest and most ego driven athletes ever.

 

[AvBuff]

Rich of a Buff complaining about fans.

I've been sitting in Section 109 at Folsom for 40 years. I don't owe an apology to anybody.

 

[redacted]

I've been sitting in Section 109 at Folsom for 40 years. I don't owe an apology to anybody.

Now I know who threw the batteries!

 

[ANewHope]

I simply don't think the NHL is or will ever be popular enough to have a player like Jordan no matter how they market the stars.

I'm not even convinced the NHL would benefit from marketing star players like the NBA/other leagues do. You risk pushing away casuals and IMO hockey fans will never be "player fans" in the same way you see with alot of NBA fans.

I'm fine with the media pumping McDavids tires but he's never going to be as big/bigger than hockey like other athletes. Comparisons to Jordan in any capacity are kinda silly.

 

[AvBuff]

Now I know who threw the batteries!

More urban legends from Husker fans. I love to see it.

 

[redacted]

More urban legends from Husker fans. I love to see it.

Don’t disparage with that label!

Also

CU Police Will Strictly Enforce Rules Covering Stadium Behavior Sept. 2

CU Police will strictly enforce rules violations on substances and materials banned from football games at the University of Colorado at Boulder this fall, and fans could be ejected from games for unruly behavior directed at stadium officials and other fans. Banned materials include alcoholic...

www.colorado.edu

 

[LOFIN]

Not really the smartest rant to do when you are a national panellist on HNIC...

 

[dahrougem2]

Athletes with brash personalities end up becoming loved anyways because they back up their claims and/or entertain.

Muhammad Ali, Connor McGregor, Michael Jordan, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Kobe Bryant, John McEnroe, etc. These guys make the game more popular.

The NHL needs that from a superstar.

 

[The Abusement Park]

Athletes with brash personalities end up becoming loved anyways because they back up their claims and/or entertain.

Muhammad Ali, Connor McGregor, Michael Jordan, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Kobe Bryant, John McEnroe, etc. These guys make the game more popular.

The NHL needs that from a superstar.

Funny enough Zegras is the best chance the NHL has at getting that. Assuming he 1) reaches his potential and 2)doesn't get dressed down by FO's and vets for flashing his personality

 

[ANewHope]

Athletes with brash personalities end up becoming loved anyways because they back up their claims and/or entertain.

Muhammad Ali, Connor McGregor, Michael Jordan, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Kobe Bryant, John McEnroe, etc. These guys make the game more popular.

The NHL needs that from a superstar.

It would be interesting to see. I just don't think the NHL's as popular as those sports. It's more of a bubble where the overall culture wins out for better or worse. The athletes you listed were bigger than the sports they played. Gretzky is the only thing that comes close for the NHL and I'd argue the good 'ol Canadian boy personality helped.

If McDavid acted like Jordan/McGregor or even Kobe he'd get absolutely destroyed. I don't think the stage is big enough where the love would beat out the hate like it did with alot of the athletes you mentioned.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

I want personalities in the league! As long as they're personalities that I like, that is.

Just kidding... sort of. I really want a lot more personality and color from the league but I don't want it to become a superstar league in that only a few guys are worthy of talking about at a national level. It does get boring when you play a team and the announcers only talk about one player all game long. There have been times where ESPN did that with MacKinnon and it must have be brutal for fans of the other team. I think it was Bucci calling Nate's hat-trick against Wild, so on second thoughts... f'em.

 

[El Travo]

Idgaf what people are quoting there. Defensemen didn't play like Bobby Orr post-Orr because they literally couldn't save for Paul Coffey and Serge Savard.

What on earth did Gretzky do that can be emulated by others? Don't say team game - that's literally hockey. If he can be emulated, where are the record challengers/breakers outside of Ovechkin?

McDavid isn't just enhancing it, he is revolutionizing it. Players coming into the league are attempting to do things at the high speeds he does them at.

You're VERY clearly missing the point. Is each new edition of a smart phone considered revolutionary because it's "better" than the last? No.

rev·o·lu·tion·ar·y
/ˌrevəˈlo͞oSHəˌnerē/
adjective
1.
involving or causing a complete or dramatic change.

You still haven't pointed out what McDavid is doing differently that could be considered revolutionary. "Players coming into the league are attempting to do things at the high speeds he does them at". That's the direction the league had been going before McDavid was even around. F***, MacKinnon was even doing it before McDavid. Or did MacKinnon look at a <15 year old McDavid back in Juniors and think "maybe I should try this whole skating fast with the puck thing"?

Bobby Orr changed the defensive position by showing that they can be more than just guys that hang back. No shit people aren't going to do it at the same level as him because he also just so happened to be the best defenseman in NHL history, but that doesn't mean his style of play didn't completely change how the position was perceived and coached.

Patrick Roy changed the goaltending position by popularizing the butterfly style. Was Hasek revolutionary because he's arguably the best goaltender in NHL history? No. He was an outlier who's methods can't possibly be imitated at a mass level, and nobody (or very few) even tried.

Hell, you can even revolutionize the game in a bad way. Just look at the New Jersey Devils and their trapping style hockey which directly brought fourth the Dead Puck Era.

This honestly feels like throwing around a new buzzword because the term "generational talent" got boring to say.

 

[dahrougem2]

You're VERY clearly missing the point. Is each new edition of a smart phone considered revolutionary because it's "better" than the last? No.

rev·o·lu·tion·ar·y
/ˌrevəˈlo͞oSHəˌnerē/
adjective
1.
involving or causing a complete or dramatic change.

You still haven't pointed out what McDavid is doing differently that could be considered revolutionary. "Players coming into the league are attempting to do things at the high speeds he does them at". That's the direction the league had been going before McDavid was even around. F***, MacKinnon was even doing it before McDavid. Or did MacKinnon look at a <15 year old McDavid back in Juniors and think "maybe I should try this whole skating fast with the puck thing"?

Bobby Orr changed the defensive position by showing that they can be more than just guys that hang back. No shit people aren't going to do it at the same level as him because he also just so happened to be the best defenseman in NHL history, but that doesn't mean his style of play didn't completely change how the position was perceived and coached.

Patrick Roy changed the goaltending position by popularizing the butterfly style. Was Hasek revolutionary because he's arguably the best goaltender in NHL history? No. He was an outlier who's methods can't possibly be imitated at a mass level, and nobody (or very few) even tried.

Hell, you can even revolutionize the game in a bad way. Just look at the New Jersey Devils and their trapping style hockey which directly brought fourth the Dead Puck Era.

This honestly feels like throwing around a new buzzword because the term "generational talent" got boring to say.

Oh lord. You're going to insane lengths to deny this. If you want to lump the f***ing New Jersey Devils in as revolutionary then we've clearly got nothing to discuss.

 

[El Travo]

Oh lord. You're going to insane lengths to deny this. If you want to lump the f***ing New Jersey Devils in as revolutionary then we've clearly got nothing to discuss.

Imagine having an entire era of hockey inspired by a team's style of play and thinking "nah, they didn't change shit".

Revolutionary doesn't mean "good". You have still yet to say what McDavid does differently that has changed the game in a manner that the game wasn't already trending towards. And you still haven't even addressed any points made beyond trying to move goalposts. But if you want to keep using words incorrectly, ditto.

 

[AllAboutAvs]

You're VERY clearly missing the point. Is each new edition of a smart phone considered revolutionary because it's "better" than the last? No.

rev·o·lu·tion·ar·y
/ˌrevəˈlo͞oSHəˌnerē/
adjective
1.
involving or causing a complete or dramatic change.

You still haven't pointed out what McDavid is doing differently that could be considered revolutionary. "Players coming into the league are attempting to do things at the high speeds he does them at". That's the direction the league had been going before McDavid was even around. F***, MacKinnon was even doing it before McDavid. Or did MacKinnon look at a <15 year old McDavid back in Juniors and think "maybe I should try this whole skating fast with the puck thing"?

Bobby Orr changed the defensive position by showing that they can be more than just guys that hang back. No shit people aren't going to do it at the same level as him because he also just so happened to be the best defenseman in NHL history, but that doesn't mean his style of play didn't completely change how the position was perceived and coached.

Patrick Roy changed the goaltending position by popularizing the butterfly style. Was Hasek revolutionary because he's arguably the best goaltender in NHL history? No. He was an outlier who's methods can't possibly be imitated at a mass level, and nobody (or very few) even tried.

Hell, you can even revolutionize the game in a bad way. Just look at the New Jersey Devils and their trapping style hockey which directly brought fourth the Dead Puck Era.

This honestly feels like throwing around a new buzzword because the term "generational talent" got boring to say.

F*** Roy....Bring back the two-pad-stack!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[dahrougem2]

Imagine having an entire era of hockey inspired by a team's style of play and thinking "nah, they didn't change shit".

Revolutionary doesn't mean "good". You have still yet to say what McDavid does differently that has changed the game in a manner that the game wasn't already trending towards. And you still haven't even addressed any points made beyond trying to move goalposts. But if you want to keep using words incorrectly, ditto.

"That the game wasn't already trending towards."

Right. Because players just before McDavid and players since McDavid are doing the things at high speed that McDavid does.

It's just incredible to me how you can cite Bobby Orr as being revolutionary yet deny McDavid. Nobody did what Orr did, and nobody does what McDavid does.

 

[S E P H]

Not sure what Jordan did to revolutionalise NBA, but I get what @sethro109 is saying. McDavid is able to function at peak level when he's at his fastest speed. That is talent in its rawest form, but you can't revolutionise something that other people can't do. How many other players can skate as well as him and make plays a that speed?

I can name maybe two that are the closest; Makar and Bure. However, Makar plays a tougher position and can potentially match McDavid where you can make the argument that Cale is more talented. Nonetheless, Makar is not even close to being as good of a stickhandler as McDavid is, I've seen too many weird plays where the puck falls off of Makar's stick. Bure isn't as fast of a skater nor has the vision Connor has.

It is the same reason why I don't understand why people want to go to the NBA as the majority will NEVER reach that level since they need to be at minimum 6'4" to get anywhere and the average height of most of humanity has been between 5'6" and 5'10". I do not tell any kid to play like McDavid because it is almost impossible to play like him, he's a peacock in a world of magpies. Just like most people wanting to get into the NBA will never reach it as height is always going to be a factor for 99% of the players. You can't change genetics.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1797821910463705223

I don't know what is worse... the fans awkwardly hounding McDavid, or the fact that McDavid bought Coors Light.

Definitely the Coors Light. I dislike most beer and even I know it's practically piss water.

 

[S E P H]

99% of their fans on here are complete gimps with massive inferiority complexes because they got gifted one of the best players of all time because the draft system was changed specifically because they were irredeemably terrible for so long. They're so blinded by McDavid skating fast that they don't realise that other good players exist (see: literally anyone since 2015 saying that hey actually another player is quite good) and they're one of the biggest proponents of the "Bettman tells the refs to favour American teams" nonsense which we had the joy of experiencing first hand. f*** em, their misery's funny.

Preach brethren 100/10 here.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

NHLers are bland as f*** publicly. Not much you can do with that.

Doesn't help that when somebody does try to stand out the hockey community often goes after them.

 

[Chiarelli]

Funny enough Zegras is the best chance the NHL has at getting that. Assuming he 1) reaches his potential and 2)doesn't get dressed down by FO's and vets for flashing his personality

Zegras doesn't have the talent to be this guy. Even if he reaches his potential he's maybe a top 10 point producer in the league. My vote would be a guy like Draisaitl or one of the Russians that are unfiltered. Ovi was probably the NHL's chance at doing something like this.

 

[ABasin]

"That the game wasn't already trending towards."

Right. Because players just before McDavid and players since McDavid are doing the things at high speed that McDavid does.

It's just incredible to me how you can cite Bobby Orr as being revolutionary yet deny McDavid. Nobody did what Orr did, and nobody does what McDavid does.

Indeed.

McDavid is playing like the best player in the world. Hence, his team is in the Finals.

For comparison purposes, MacKinnon did not play like the 2nd best player in the world in the playoffs. Either that, or there's a damn big difference between the #1 guy and the rest of the pack.

Or both.

 

[The Abusement Park]

Indeed.

McDavid is playing like the best player in the world. Hence, his team is in the Finals.

For comparison purposes, MacKinnon did not play like the 2nd best player in the world in the playoffs. Either that, or there's a damn big difference between the #1 guy and the rest of the pack.

Or both.

I mean that’s pretty clear.

 

[sethro109]

Not sure what Jordan did to revolutionalise NBA, but I get what @sethro109 is saying. McDavid is able to function at peak level when he's at his fastest speed. That is talent in its rawest form, but you can't revolutionise something that other people can't do. How many other players can skate as well as him and make plays a that speed?

I can name maybe two that are the closest; Makar and Bure. However, Makar plays a tougher position and can potentially match McDavid where you can make the argument that Cale is more talented. Nonetheless, Makar is not even close to being as good of a stickhandler as McDavid is, I've seen too many weird plays where the puck falls off of Makar's stick. Bure isn't as fast of a skater nor has the vision Connor has.

It is the same reason why I don't understand why people want to go to the NBA as the majority will NEVER reach that level since they need to be at minimum 6'4" to get anywhere and the average height of most of humanity has been between 5'6" and 5'10". I do not tell any kid to play like McDavid because it is almost impossible to play like him, he's a peacock in a world of magpies. Just like most people wanting to get into the NBA will never reach it as height is always going to be a factor for 99% of the players. You can't change genetics.


Definitely the Coors Light. I dislike most beer and even I know it's practically piss water.

I don't watch enough basketball to put up a proper argument myself, but I've seen many articles state the following.

Jordan's style of play changed the shooting guard position, in addition to his individual successes. His scoring skills, mid-range jump shot, and defensive tenacity established new benchmarks for excellence, affecting how the game is played. His competitive drive and leadership served as an example for teamwork and dedication, influencing the mentality of his colleagues and future basketball players.

 

[redacted]

It is really McDavid and everyone else and that group is probably 5-6 players. Probably not a popular opinion here, but MacK the last two playoffs has been pretty meh considering the level of player he is. His regular seasons have been great, especially this year... but playoffs are certainly a step back from what we saw 20-22. I probably wouldn't label him the 2nd best player today despite his obvious success in the regular season.

 

[S E P H]

I mean that’s pretty clear.

Not sure I agree, I suggest that it cycles since McDavid was Makar's Groom of the Stool in 2022. There was no other player as good as Makar was in 2022. You can also make the argument that Makar was better for the first series as well as he was playing out of his mind. I get McDavid had 15 points, with 80% of them being on the powerplay in that Kings series, but everyone was scoring at will on LA for the Oilers in that series.