tom webster

I could meet you if you want. Just PM me and we can try and get together.

I would prefer Venmo. If you PM me I’ll give you address. Thanks. I’ll just go with first pay, first serve.

So we are in the middle of our ticket draft and I have acquired all 8 tickets for Carolina game on Sunday, November 23rd.

That’s about how I remember it.

I know he played a couple in November of his rookie year. I think I remember they sent Andreychuk back to juniors and Housley moved up front. I think maybe a couple more times his rookie year and then maybe once more later in his career.

I’m pretty sure you understand that your opinions aren’t universally accepted.

Maybe he doesn’t agree with you.

He was strictly a defenseman in high school and was drafted as such. He played forward maybe twice with Buffalo his rookie year and I’m not sure he played it after that. But technically you are right, he wore 6 as a forward.

The veteran players on this team are actually optimistic for the future. Maybe they are naive, maybe buying into the internal talk but it’s palpable when you talk to them. The results and missteps have rendered a large portion of the fan base solidly pessimistic but athletes are by nature optimistic and it would be wrong to assume that they view their circumstances in the same way as the disenchanted fan base. There is also the fact that even if Tuch signs a team friendly, market rate contract he will still make millions more then if he signs a max contract under the new CBA.

Housley did not “come in” as a center. They eventually tried him at center but originally he was strictly a defenseman.

These are the first three games Taro and I are considering. Nov 23 - Carolina 1pm Nov 28 - New Jersey 4pm Dec 20 - Islanders 5pm Thoughts?

It’s been a bit but Taro mentioned to me that a meetup might be in order. I thought I’d guage interest. I can get up to eight tickets but I’d need to know which game by next Saturday. Cost would be $120 per ticket if we used my tickets. We usually meet up got dinner before the game. Let me know if you are interested.

Again, I’m not disputing any of this. My only contention is that whatever trends are happening in the draft process, it not yet impacted the league’s mean height and weight for skaters. Maybe that changes in the coming years.

That’s a while different argument. And Willis points out that the numbers are actually inflated by lesser used players so EROD only balances it out. Florida only proves that it’s not all about size. Like LGRM says, teams are drafting bigger defenseman but it still hasn’t manifested itself with the leagues elite.

Like I have said previously, I don’t post other people’s work but if you look up an article by Jonathan Willis, the numbers don’t back up your assertions, especially amongst playoff teams. The median height has remained constant and the mean weight has gone down. Florida was the third lightest team in the playoffs last year, ahead of only Tampa and Colorado.

That is actually contrary to the data. The mean height of NHL players has remained constant at 6’1” since the advent of the salary cap era. Further, teams with the taller defense are barely above .500 in playoff series wins.

According to sportrac, it’s essentially a 3 year, $30.1M deal.

Again with the facts….

People just have the wrong belief that the league continues to get bigger and bigger. The median weight of skaters continues to drop and the median height has stayed constant at 6’1” throughout the salary cap era. Florida plays a tough, gritty, hard nosed game but on average, they were the third lightest team in the playoffs ahead of only Tampa Bay and Colorado. Benson will be a star in this league but right now or he is fully capable of playing in the top six on a playoff team.

While I respect your opinion, to me it’s just an excuse.

I’m really surprised at how long this thread has lasted. Like you said, it’s a non-subject, it’s never going to be bargained away.

They still had a lot to say about who bought the team and the future plans of the team.

Rumor has it that TPEGS fought very hard to find owners that would keep the team in Rochester.

Don’t disagree with any of this but the great thing about sports, at least in my opinion, is when the unexpected happens. It’s why I said regression is likely, but it’s not a given.

I think they get a lot more scoring from third and fourth lines this year and while regression from McLeod is probably more likely, it’s also possible that he continues to improve with increased usage. I personally don’t see offense as a problem.