The Hockey Thread

Ghost

@Ganymede hahaha yaaaas...ive gone back to YouTube a few times and don't have the heart to tell them that I didnt see a kick.

As a Yotes fan my major bitches are Gretzky, how they fucking sold Dubnyk to the Wild for draft picks to keep playing Smitty, and the absolute garbage referee work during a few select playoff series against the Red Wings.

I dont even care that Holmstrom and Bertuzzi amd Babcock arent a part of Detroit anymore. Fuck those guys. Bertuzzi should have never been allowed back on NHL affiliated ice, and I was getting pretty tired of watching Holmstrom shove people who didnt have the puck off of their ice. Fuuuuck there was one instance where Holmstrom grabbed the back of Adrian Aucoin's sweater from behind, pulled them both to the ice, and AUCOIN got a 5min for Holding.

Fuckin hockey sometimes, right?

Lotherio

@Ghost I'll see you and raise. IF you want to complain about bad management over the past 20+ years, try being an Oilers fan. Management keys have moved around and changed enough hands, so to speak, its more like a curse and doesn't matter who's at the helm even. I don't know, folks thought when Pocklington was done (forced to sale) it was good, but should we be mad that Edmonton enforced whatever clause it was that kept the team in Edmonton until like 2004 or whatever (the reason he couldn't sell to another buyer in another city, despite all his threats to do so).

Ghost

@Lotherio Yeah I like the Oilers. Theyre one of those teams I'm always hoping to see had a good season. I kinda fell in love with them during that 2005/2006 playoff run where they went in 8th, beat the 1st ranked Red Wings, and took it all the way to the finals. Roloson had a great year that year.

I dont want to even speculate how you feel about the Oilers having not one but two allegedly game changing draft picks (Nugent-Hopkins and McDavid) and have only made the playoffs once recently. That would drive me insane. I'm a Yotes fan. I know. My team is in the same boat

Lotherio

@Ghost Exactly that. At least Nuge is still with the team out of a lot of great picks over the years. Complete change up again in upper management, maybe this year we'll see something (at least the playoffs because I don't think McDavid will wait as long as Ovechkin to hold the cup)

And that 05/06 playoff run was legendary - out of 61 penalty shots in stanley cups history, Pronger is the only one to score in a Stanley cup final. Small market killed that team staying together, his wife didn't like everyone treating her like a star around town.

On track for the thread and this year, I'm in a weird place, all the teams in round 2 are teams I would like to see win the cup (Bruins least of the four, but my daughter likes them as she's starting to watch some hockey now, so they can win to build her enthusiasm).

Ghost

@Lotherio I think it's crazy that the Flames didn't get past the Avalanche.

Like I said before, I don't have any dogs in the fight, but here are my preferred Cup hoisters:

St. Louis - Been a while since they've seen the finals and never won a cup. Go for it. I'm also a kid from Nebraska (which has no pro teams so we borrow a lot of fandom from Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, and Minnesota. So the Blues are a quasi-home team pick)
The Sharks - Hey, remember that time the Sharks went to the playoffs over and over again for decades after strong as Hell seasons, but fizzled in the playoffs? Yeah, that's pretty much every playoffs since 1993. Close the deal already, guys
The Islanders - I root for these guys in the same way I root for the New York Jets. They're an American Apple Pie team that's been out of the big show and hasn't been feared in so long that I love to see them do well.
The Stars - My favorite player, Vern Fiddler (#38 baby, the Coyotes were crazy to not hang on to him. Yeah, my Yotes jersey isn't Doan or Briere or Tkachuk or Roenick or Gartner or Khabibulin or Numminen or Tversovsky or any of the other badass players. It's Fiddler.), isn't on a line with them anymore. He retired, but is coaching, and I wanna see him be a part of the cup.

So I guess I do have a dog in the fight, now that I think of it. Go Fiddler (not allowed to say Go Stars because of the Coyotes/Dallas rivalry).

Lotherio

@Ghost That's close to mine, I'm torn between the never-hads and the been-a-whiles for hoisting the cup. Bruins are only there cause of my daughter for I'd be good seeing them get it. I'm still listening to games (yeah, more on, I could watch, but I've a habit of internet radio'ing the games, must be old age setting in, I can listen to games instead of watching).

Ganymede

@Ghost said in The Hockey Thread:

As a Yotes fan my major bitches are Gretzky, how they fucking sold Dubnyk to the Wild for draft picks to keep playing Smitty, and the absolute garbage referee work during a few select playoff series against the Red Wings.

Frankly, I hear this a lot and don't understand it much. Gretzky's presence may have been the only thing that kept the Coyotes in Phoenix: it boosted attendance, and he is a great ambassador for any team at any level. No one bitches about Lemieux's involvement with the Penguins. And when Gretzky hit the bench, it's not like there were a lot of alternatives; rumor is that no one wanted to coach in Arizona due to the ownership situation at the time.

I am disappointed with the Coyotes' performance this year, but they did place 9th and were out only 4 points -- not bad for a team that was near the basement last year and still doesn't have a starting goaltender. (Sorry, not sorry, Darcy.)

Ghost

@Ganymede So, the Gretzky bitch.

The great one was part of the effort to rush the team into a bankruptcy sale without NHL approval. They may have kept the Coyotes in Phoenix, but kind of like that movie Major League, they kinda ran the team into the ground for a sale.

2nd bitch. Gretzky was a horrible coach. I have friends who were with the Coyotes organization during his coaching tenure. I have it on very good authority that Gretzky was flying back and forth from Los Angeles to Phoenix, and it was Rick Tocchet who was actually coached the team, but that didn't stop Gretzky from showing up at the games and then yelling at the team for losing.

Now Tocchet is coaching officially.

Ganymede

@Ghost

That's fine, about Gretzky's lack of coaching ability. It is a given these days that transcendent players make for poor coaches.

silverfox

@Ghost

(This is in every way a joke because I don't believe sports actually matter answer and I do feel blind loyalty to the home team.)

Screw that list, GO AVES. Avalanche

Ghost

@silverfox Hahaha hell no. Root for your Avs. Best of luck to them.

I will straight up fight a Red Wings fan. I get so sick of their smarmy lot piling in at my Coyotes home games, yelling and laughing at Coyotes fans about "You're welcome for the ticket revenue" even after getting beat.

Bertuzzi? Holmstrom? Red Wings fans saying stuff like "you just hate us because we're the best hockey franchise in history"?

Ganymede

@Ghost said in The Hockey Thread:

Bertuzzi? Holmstrom? Red Wings fans saying stuff like "you just hate us because we're the best hockey franchise in history"?

That's not even close to accurate.

The best hockey franchise in history is still the Montreal Canadiens. No comparison. The Toronto Maple Leafs have won more Stanley Cups. The Bruins have a better win-percentage in the Championship series.

The Red Wings have the second most appearances, but also 13 series losses.

Ghost

@Ganymede THATS WHAT I KEEP TELLIN EM! but noooOoooOooOooOoOoOoo they just keep blathering on.

I got a Habs fan on one side of my office and a Bruins fan upstairs. Both are from Quebec and Boston. Local love. Glad to see they get along so well.

Ghost

How the EFF did my Coyotes end up leading the Pacific division? Wow.

Lotherio

@Ghost said in The Hockey Thread:

How the EFF did my Coyotes end up leading the Pacific division? Wow.

Because the Oilers bubble burst and they're heading back to playing how they were predicted to play at the beginning of the season. Merry Christmas Phoenix fans.

Ghost

@Lotherio said in The Hockey Thread:

@Ghost said in The Hockey Thread:

How the EFF did my Coyotes end up leading the Pacific division? Wow.

Because the Oilers bubble burst and they're heading back to playing how they were predicted to play at the beginning of the season. Merry Christmas Phoenix fans.

Sad part? The Yotes aren't getting much traction here in AZ. They never have.

The Yotes account for a very SMALL amount of merchandise in any athletic store, hat store, team shop, etc. You dont even see Yotes gear at grocery stores. Very few mugs, posters, etc. It's all ASU, Diamondbacks, Cardinals, or Suns.

I'd hate to see them go, but would rather see them in a city that loves them. It would be frustrating to see them suddenly get all of this PLAYOFF FRENZY attention (or even a cup) knowing that most of Phoenix would be like: "Hey that's great, but I don't care about hockey"

Lotherio

@Ghost said in The Hockey Thread:

knowing that most of Phoenix would be like: "We had a professional hockey team, whaaaat?"

FTFY

Ganymede

@Ghost said in The Hockey Thread:

How the EFF did my Coyotes end up leading the Pacific division? Wow.

It's pretty simple, actually.

Darcy Kuemper and Antti Raanta are a good goaltending tandem. As the Islanders proved last year, you can do well with two marginal starters, and even better with two really good starters, as the Bruins are showing this year.
The 'Yotes defense is playing up to its capability. Ekman-Larsson is still one of the best d-men out there and Goligoski is playing at the level he should. The combination of Goligoski and Chychrun is putting up mad points.
Depth. If you look at the forward lines, you'll notice that the 'Yotes top 2 lines rank in the bottom of the League (30th and 26th), whereas their 3rd and 4th lines are in the upper half (16th and 11th).
Weak West. The Western Conference has been pretty weak so far, and easy to feed on.

For more analysis, feel free to continue.

Lotherio

@Ganymede said in The Hockey Thread:

Weak West. The Western Conference has been pretty weak so far, and easy to feed on.

This certainly cannot be the case, given that Oilers top 2 are the only contributors on the team and the bottom 6 forwards haven't done jack ... ohhh, I see what you're saying, sadface.