LTS

Not too much else really. This year I won't have the same connection although I believe we're playing one of the Basil kids next weekend. Oh Pi. It's very true. I'm good friends with a regional GM of Cadillac and I coached his kid for a few years. He's good friends with members of the Basil family (naturally). We play against one of the Basil children each year. When we would play them we would go out to lunch/dinner after the games and I've talked to his father numerous times. He has relayed the story about Jack a few times in a few different settings during family gatherings. He's extremely gracious, unassuming, and hanging out with the kids most of the time. He loves them. Point is... he's the right kind of guy. But you don't have to believe me, that's fine.

You're the guy with the drink? ;) Okay, so she's too tall and too old for you? Interesting... :)

No more analysis needed. He'll be signed. Eichel's benchmark for success if leading the league and his team to a championship. He's driven at the same level that every other generational great has been driven. He's also a really down to Earth dude who separates hockey and outside of hockey really well. I've spoken to members of the Basil family and their information on Jack is incredible. I've said it before but during family holidays he's likely to be found more with the young kids, hanging out, than he is with the adults. They heap massive praise on him as a person before they even speak about him as a hockey player. He's the guy. I'm sure he's all but signed already. He's the C. Feel free to lock the thread. <<Yes, I've had a cold this entire past week and I got back on the drinking wagon tonight>> <<No, I am not making up the Basil family information.>> Believe in Jack. He is what's needed.

Cody Hodsgon Michal Grosek Taro Tsujimoto

There are 71 others with his name?

Using the toxic environment when comparing to the Sabres doesn't work. The Sabres environment was clearly not rainbows, unicorns, and cupcakes. Both teams were bad, had bad problems, etc. Blaming zone entry problems on players when the coach wanted players to dump it in is a bit out of place isn't it? Very few possession zone entries are created by a single player being elusive enough to get around the defender. It's caused more by puck movement to isolate a lane in which an attacking player can gain the zone.

I'm not a fan of a customized sweater unless it's going on display. I am not that player and therefore I don't want to wear the sweater. Wearing a blank sweater is much like wearing a jacket with the logo on it, or a t-shirt, etc. It's a generic way of supporting the team. A customized sweater on display is like a photo of a player, etc. It's the representation of the the player contributions to the team for whom you root.

This is great to hear. The game is to fluid to over analyze positioning on the ice. The concepts of positional analytics need to be taught to players so they learn tendencies but given the fluidity of the game they are hardly the mandates of how to play. Once you venture down the path of your system requiring each player to complete a choose your own adventure book just to complete the breakout you are screwed. Basically, it's more like. Look for this, try to make this happen, and use your damn brains to adjust as needed. Be creative, but not stupid. Should work much better.

No reason to think it's not the players they sent to the WInter Classic Announcement. Eichel - C O'Reilly - A Pommer - A

I don't think people will just clog the middle any more than they do today... if could happen. The question is how effective is that defense if you allow the point men to have shots that are uncontested repeatedly by not moving your forwards up to defend them. Right now the zone speed of players allows them to reduce shot angles and also get in the shot lane. If the defender is a few more feet away the space is more open and thus harder to close off. As such you are left with a pressure the point further out and thus have less legs to block shots or collapse and become ducks in a shooting gallery. ANything that tries to regulate the space in which a team can play defense will fail horribly given the speed and fluidity of the game.

I see it now. I don't like it... but i see it. :)

I'm not worried about zone defenses. The entire concept of "illegal defense" is repugnant to me. Don't tell me how I can defend.. if you want to clog the middle of the ice and block shots that's fine. I say blast away at their heads until they don't want to stand there. It's that simple. Perhaps I am missing something here... they call icing by enforcing the puck crossing the red line. Doesn't that require 1 at the red line and one at the blue line today? If you also eliminate the offsides then it would not matter at all. One official at the redline is all you need. Did I miss something in the original proposal?

The no offsides would be interesting because the game immediately becomes a full ice game. It makes the ice bigger without actually making the ice bigger. Right now the ice gets broken into three sections most of the time and no less than 2 because the lines matter. Not only can players receive a pass further down the ice but in the offensive zone the D are no longer required to play right at the blue line. This shrinks the defensive coverage area and makes it easier to defend. If the D could back up the ice 4-5 more feet it creates space as the winger covering the point would have to move up or risk opening up the point shot on net. If nothing else play it somewhat like basketball. You can't bring it back past the red-line once you cross it.

Getting rough... I think they need to institute and immediate 5 minute major for anyone who goes after a player who lays out a teammate. I am tired of it... and Fasching was clean from the best I could see on the stream. It's an automated motion tracking system. https://www.keemotion.com/ The Bruins showing a complete lack of composure.

Yea.. but punching a puck in the net for a goal is pretty weak too :).

Well, I don't think the quality here is the stream so much as the Keemotion technology and camera they are using. The Keemotion stuff is pretty new. Intresting, but the camera could use improvement.. and the lighting seems way off.. underexposed.

Ugh... of course you can't use the xbox player for it. So I get to sit on my PC. I really need to get something to allow me to cast to my TV. But I got online just in time for the goal!

I think I might be able to stream this one tonight.. woot!

Streaming! Awesome. HOCKEY!

Turrible rule changes. The 2min penalty for a failed review is awful. How many times did they blow the call last year? Just get rid of the damned challenge entirely. What will inevitably happen this year is that a team will lose a game because they challenged a call, were ruled against, gave up a PP goal on that penalty and then other camera angles or something will show the refs were incorrect in their review on the ice. The no timeout after icing is also stupid... let them use it how they want. The NHL is great at breaking things that were fixed and not fixing that which is broken. Derp.

Well, generally speaking your third line is the line that sees the 3rd most ice time in 5 on 5 situations right? Ideally you want to maximize the ice time of your top scoring talent. Therefore, it makes little sense to place a top scoring resource on a line that is on the ice less than two other lines. If you had equal talent then the lines would rotate evenly and thus there would be no third line except in the order in which they are placed on the ice. Of course, if a player can score at a higher g/60minute rate on the third line than they can the first line then perhaps you put them on that line. So long as your reduction in talent on your top line does not then produce a greater GA/60M because you've weakened that line. Or some fancy stats crap like that... (I know that's not all that fancy)

It means you have to pay for a plan to obtain access. Good for the BN. It'll fail miserably.

Every GM is overrated.. because eventually the star power you happen upon by almost pure chance ends up leaving you and then you look like an incompetent boob. I'm not sure there is a GM in the league that doesn't fall into this category at some point. Hell the Red Wings made the playoffs for 25 years or whatever and people call their GM out. I think the decline of every GM is the moment they spend big money on those contracts. It ties their hands and make team building an exercise of how do I still fill out the remaining 16-18 slots with 25% less cap space to work in. I should take that back... the Patriots are proving quite well that you only need to invest in 1 player to really win for a long time. Perhaps in hockey you need 2.. and perhaps the Penguins become a good model for that, but of course their stars are not making the same money as Kane and Toews either. The presumption that the cap keeps going up hasn't held true.

This thread will be the one that breaks SabreSpace. All this worry over nothing... meanwhile, there's a big-arse hurricane about to wreak havoc... I'm more worried about that right now.

The trick to "sticking" on the regular roster is not when you are ready to be a regular, but when you are ready to be a regular and you can't be freely moved between ROC and BUF. Roster flexibility is such a huge factor in this calculation for any player who is not firmly planted as a top tier player.