Richards, of all people, talking about how hes looking forward to having fun this year makes me ill.
Speculation: The Off-Season Thread Part VI - Are we there yet? (Grabovski to Caps, 1 yr)
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Richards, of all people, talking about how hes looking forward to having fun this year makes me ill.
Limited view?
How does the NHL benefit from games played at crazy hours? These players decided to play in the NHL. The league is based in North America. Not in Europe.
The NHL is a business. They shut down the business for 2-3 weeks and have their players travel across the world to play in the Olympics.
The greatest viewing live audience is not in the middle of the night or in the morning.
You don't understand. You don't. I answered your questions. It doesn't matter what the players think. The IOC doesn't pay their salaries. The NHL does.
HatTrick Swayze
Just Be Nice
Maybe it's unfair but reading between the lines it would indicate that something really soured in the Torts-Richards relationship this year. Wonder if the 4th line/duty scratch pissed Richards off that much. Wonder if he was the one with the "blindside slam" to management. It fits, but we will likely never know.
If it IS true, Richards can go scratch. Torts didn't anchor your skates in mud all year. He didnt make you spend your time promoting shirts that could be worn untucked (what is that even) instead of busting it in the gym.
If it IS true, Richards can go scratch. Torts didn't anchor your skates in mud all year. He didnt make you spend your time promoting shirts that could be worn untucked (what is that even) instead of busting it in the gym.
Tawnos
A guy with a bass
RB, it's not about the money. I work for a guitar store. Do you know how often we lend or donate equipment to companies without getting a direct financial benefit, even if they're making money off it themselves? It's about maintaining a presence in the community. In the NHLs case, that's the worldwide hockey community and the broader athletic community. These things are good for how people see your organization, which is important for business relationships.
The only, only financial issue that I will grant you is that the Olympics brings in a huge amount of money and I'm sure the NHL would like to tap some of it. But whether the league should be part of the event isn't a question in my mind.
The only, only financial issue that I will grant you is that the Olympics brings in a huge amount of money and I'm sure the NHL would like to tap some of it. But whether the league should be part of the event isn't a question in my mind.
Tawnos
A guy with a bass
Obviously we aren't talking about players of the same caliber, but it reminds me of Jagr talking about how he learned how to have fun playing hockey again while playing in Siberia during the lockout.
If Richards had any say in Tortorella being fired, then something is seriously out of whack with this organization. He played himself out of having any say in the direction of the team. Tortorella stood by that guy even when he was playing horribly. It took some "organizational" input for him to be scratched in the playoffs. Torts was the only one who had his back.
At least Jagr never had a season like Richards just had.
I wish Richards would shut his mouth and let his playing do the talking this season. He knows nothing about Vigneault's system, yet he knows he'll have more fun playing it -- he also indirectly throws the coach he won a cup with under the bus -- the same one who was supposed to be a big reason why he signed here. This stuff is just bizarre.
LORDE
I am Lorde, YA YA YA
It absolutely matters what the players and the NHLPA think... this was a topic of the newly signed CBA.
I never said the NHL benefits. Not once.
Has this rumor even been confirmed? I haven't been paying attention since the end of the season but isn't this all speculation (that the players went to Sather to get Torts fired)?
Sather admitted the player's opinion swayed his decision on the coach.
What more evidence do you need? A tape recording?
Tawnos
A guy with a bass
Thirty One
Safe is safe.
- Dec 28, 2003
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When did he admit that? He said no players came to him about Tortorella.
aufheben
#Norris4Fox
I probably wont be able to provide you with a direct quote from the old codger, but Brooks reported heavily on the player exit interviews being the defining moment.
And Im pretty sure I could find you some reports that have Sather inferring Tortorella was safe, only to change directly after the player meetings.
Theres zero doubt in my mind that the players whining swayed Sather's decision. Richards was probably a main culprit given his history with Torts.
eco's bones
Registered User
Nothing grew hockey in the United States like the 1980 USA gold medal winning team of college players + 2 minor league pros--Eruzione and Schneider. As far as Olympic ice hockey goes that was as thrilling and compelling as it gets. Practically a whole generation of US kids memorized the names of the players on that team--Johnson, Craig, Neal Broten, Morrow, Christian, McClanahan, O'Callahan etc. etc. and followed in their footsteps. Most of those guys went on to play in the NHL which wasn't particularly friendly to American or US college players up until then.
A bit more history Jim Thorpe won a bunch of medals in track and field back in the 1912 Olympics. One of the most famous American athletes of all time. Those medals were taking away from him--because for a very short period of time he'd accepted a small pittance of $ to play minor league baseball in some obscure league. Growing up the Olympics always made this big ****ing show out of the purity of the amateur athlete vs. the professional one. All of a sudden it all changed out of nowhere around the time of the collapse of the Soviet economy which led to the downfall of the Russian communist regime that had ruled since Lenin. The Olympics are no longer about purity in anything. It's all about money and marketing--the same as the NHL but the NHL doesn't have and never has had this pretense about purity.
I don't see how it 'grows' the game at all--not that I'm even sure the game needs 'growing'. If you're a hockey fan it pretty much means you come from the ice hockey playing nations--Canada, the USA at least the northern part--Scandinavia, Russia and parts of Eastern Europe. If you live in those countries already the exposure is already there for you. Most other countries are going to continue to follow other sports. If there is such a thing as a global sport it's soccer/football-maybe basketball, car racing or boxing/martial arts. The real accessibility to ice hockey just isn't there. You're not going to get a big following for instance in Mexico, Nigeria or India because the infrastructure to play the sport isn't there.
A bit more history Jim Thorpe won a bunch of medals in track and field back in the 1912 Olympics. One of the most famous American athletes of all time. Those medals were taking away from him--because for a very short period of time he'd accepted a small pittance of $ to play minor league baseball in some obscure league. Growing up the Olympics always made this big ****ing show out of the purity of the amateur athlete vs. the professional one. All of a sudden it all changed out of nowhere around the time of the collapse of the Soviet economy which led to the downfall of the Russian communist regime that had ruled since Lenin. The Olympics are no longer about purity in anything. It's all about money and marketing--the same as the NHL but the NHL doesn't have and never has had this pretense about purity.
I don't see how it 'grows' the game at all--not that I'm even sure the game needs 'growing'. If you're a hockey fan it pretty much means you come from the ice hockey playing nations--Canada, the USA at least the northern part--Scandinavia, Russia and parts of Eastern Europe. If you live in those countries already the exposure is already there for you. Most other countries are going to continue to follow other sports. If there is such a thing as a global sport it's soccer/football-maybe basketball, car racing or boxing/martial arts. The real accessibility to ice hockey just isn't there. You're not going to get a big following for instance in Mexico, Nigeria or India because the infrastructure to play the sport isn't there.
haveandare
Registered User
Seriously. The guy who drop passed to the other team 100 times a night thinks a more offensive system suits him.
He should say nothing but "I'm sorry and I'll be better this year."
The Olympic participation is an entirely different issue. The CBA doesn't guarantee the players playing in the Olympics.
Everything is about the money.
Bettman wasn't crazy about going to Sochi. The NHL agreed to go to Sochi but they made sure it was just Sochi and made no commitments to future Olympics.
South Korea has a 13 hour time difference from the east coast of the United States and Toronto/Montreal. The NHL is going there in 2018?
http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/...ait-and-see-approach-to-2018-winter-olympics/
Bettman wasn't crazy about going to Sochi. The NHL agreed to go to Sochi but they made sure it was just Sochi and made no commitments to future Olympics.
South Korea has a 13 hour time difference from the east coast of the United States and Toronto/Montreal. The NHL is going there in 2018?
http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/...ait-and-see-approach-to-2018-winter-olympics/
Tawnos
A guy with a bass
Just because the league (and Bettman) have made this an issue all about money doesn't mean he's right. It is about money, it just shouldn't be.
Boruto
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- Jun 27, 2011
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Well, Sathers reconsidering the coaching position after the players interviews isn't something that's pinned on either parties. Many of the players collectively were not high on Tortorella coaching and neither was Glen. Had glen not acted on the opinions and wills of the players and figured out that the majority of players wanted a coaching change, we would be heading into this year with disgruntled players. I believe Glen and his demeanor when he had no player dare to explicitly state that they wanted Torts gone. That doesn't mean Glen didn't know that from the player interviews. The approach has been to pin it on Henrik having more say than than anyone else in the franchise, or players called out Torts etc. and now Richards being a culprit behind the Torts decision. If I were Glen listening to the obvious disgruntled opinions of the players on the teams future and the past year, I would be swayed too and rightfully so. There is no culprit. People are just angry that Beaver is still on the team and we don't have $6.6M to work with. Richards has always been one to tell the truth when he could elect to shut up. It was a bad season where he was out of shape, mentally lagging, and had a difficult relationship with the coach. As much as it was a part of our losing team, I personally don't find it a great enough of a sin to hold it against him after the off season. I'd be a lot more concerned if Glen didn't pick up on the players thoughts on coaching.
The crusade to globalize the NHL would also, invariably, be about money as well.
You want to treat this as some sort of civic duty, like paying taxes, or jury duty. It just isnt.
LORDE
I am Lorde, YA YA YA
I actually met Cally this summer and spoke with him for a little while... he said the sentiment in the room had changed. Guys were really uptight, on edge, scared to make mistakes and that they were all looking forward to "playing" hockey again.
LORDE
I am Lorde, YA YA YA
Wasn't and isn't guaranteed but it was discussed... it was part of some of the decisions they were making.
Players have a say.
Like it or not, the Olympics do grow the game globally, more fans = more $. Not necessarily for the NHL but potentially... even if that potential doesn't occur until years or decades down the road. Golf is doing the exact same thing... also on a global scale... trying to grow the game, more golfers/fans = more revenue.
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