PerreaultForever

Maybe it's because Buffalo hits so little that when they do it stands out and gets noticed.

Good point but I don't think it's coached not to hit. What I think it is, is they do not feel their team mates have their back if they do hit and get challenged by the other team. Clifton leads in hits but he's hitting way less and a lot softer than he did in Boston. He played big and brave there. The team as a whole doesn't have enough toughness on it, no real toughness, no Foligno types even. Nobody to get your back if it gets tough so they back off and don't initiate much. I was watching Philly lose to Montreal tonight and although they are behind us in their rebuild (slightly) Montreal is so much tougher (and so is Philly although that's more obvious). As a result players on those rosters play bigger and their versions of Tuch do hit like that.

This was the critique last year too. No way that can survive the playoff grind. Same still holds for Edmonton imo. You need real solid depth for a deep playoff run.

Using a phrase like "media agenda" plants you into the right wing conspiracy camp. Good luck with all that. When it comes to "agendas" just follow the money, not the rhetoric and propaganda. It'll get you closer to actual truth and facts. Right wing think tanks pump out tons of stuff like that all the time. Any study they can come up with to fuel their machine and their agenda gets funded and published and promoted heavily. They have done that for years. It was all laid out in 1973 by the Trilateral Commission but nobody reads that sort of thing do they. Anyway, it's part of their managing of democracy strategy but we are getting political so let's leave it there. Look into it if you want, if you don't want to don't. Happiness is a real thing though. Think about it objectively. If Americans were "happy" like those Swedes and Finns, how could a MAGA movement exist? It's based on returning to happy times for people who are unhappy now. The target of anger varies on the left or right but the unhappiness has to be there for the anger to continue. That's just simple logic.

It's the player's association. That's the maximum number the league is allowed to give so they do. When they give the maximum they are sying we'd like to give more but we can't. It's in the agreement.

With the funding they have you really want to argue that right wing think tanks haven't already put everything out there that supports their view already out there? You can quantify everything these days. Look at hockey analytics. Everything is quantified. If people are happy, they are happy. You need to consider why that is.

Your bar is very low.

I see it as the moment this franchise broke.

I really wish they'd have kept Peca as an assistant and then we could have fired Granato this year and seen if things would change with Peca as an interim. As is I see only one good move and that is hiring Lindy Ruff. It's the best PR move, it conjures history, it signals a new era (or return to an old) and if Lindy can't get this lot to perform better you might as well scrap it all. Would he take the job? Probably not. My dream? Pegula hires Pat LaFontaine as senior advisor for all hockey operations and retires to Florida and then we can all pretend all of this never happened, just a dream, a really really really bad dream.

Clifton will say "obviously it was a disappointing year and something I'm not used to but I'm excited about next year as we have a lot of good guys here........." etc. as he takes his pay to the bank, enjoys his time off, and makes plans for leaving town in 2 years. Byram will say "it's disappointing not to be in the playoffs but I'm looking forward to playing with these guys next year for a full season. I think we can be a really good team here..............." etc. as he calls his agent and makes plans for a tough negotiation and contract hold out or trade. The "next year" stuff will all be very predictable.

or a Reinhart or an Eichel. It's not about that though. We have tons of talented players. We have 2 first overall picks and more first rounders in the line up than any other team. We have a poorly constructed roster though and we don't get the maximum out of them.

Worse than the Coyotes imo. Maybe worst in all of pro sports (although the Jets are in the running). The whole approach has been wrong since Pegula got here and this coddling of players to get them to want to here is backasswards.

I've pointed to this Nashville comparison a few times already. It's glaring in terms of contrast. There are other examples of high standards. Montgomery in Boston had his number one team in the division doing wind sprints the other day because they lost 2 games in a row and looked "not playoff ready". Torts benched his captain. Team woke up. Buffalo? It's a day spa.

Of course they like him. He doesn't make them work and doesn't hold them accountable. What's not to like if you're a floater? Granato is one of the worst coaches currently employed in the NHL. Continuing with him is absurd. He has done nothing to justify that. We are underperforming to the level of talent on the roster.

When were they "real good" this year? You mean that one game against the Leafs?

and yet studies on happiness show that Canadians are happier than Americans and those Scandinavian countries with taxes much higher than even Canada are the happiest of all. There is something to be said for having various stesses of life removed by having strong public systems and safety nets in place. Taxes pay for that. Now every country is different and every piece of geography has it's own pressures and issues but just holding onto your precious dollars and not paying taxes isn't the be all and end all of life. You pay one way or you pay another. You have to compare the whole social picture rather than just looking at a number. No need to get political and if you like where you live best of all that's great, but that happiness measurement is a real thing and can't be dismissed. The same thing holds for hockey players. There are quite a few Canadian players who prefer staying in Canada. Maybe Winnipeg is cold and isolated enough to have issues and maybe some don't want to speak French in Quebec but Toronto and Vancouver are certainly not going to have any issues, taxes and all. Lots of players go back to where they came from, especially those Swedes, after they retire. Some still live there now and just stay in condos here while playing. Remember Hasek saying he wanted his son to grow up in the Czech Republic? There are a LOT of happiness related reasons for people to want to be places, and Tavares got to fill out his PJs so he should shut it.

I thought this article explained it well. https://theconversation.com/baltimore-bridge-collapse-a-bridge-engineer-explains-what-happened-and-what-needs-to-change-226716 Bottom line is really that the size of the container ships has increased so dramatically that older bridge safety standards are no longer adequate. The ships are simply too big and heavy now. I mean just look at all those containers. Never saw anything like that 30 years ago or back when this bridge was built.

No that is totally incorrect. Some of them were in fact paying no tax or less tax than average people. Hiding money in foreign places. There were several prosecuted and loopholes closed. No doubt many are still getting away with it. Couldn't give a toss about Tavares. I'm sure he still has net more money than me and you together, even with the added tax. Boohoo.

Or he cares too much and won't stop meddling/controlling it when he knows nothing about hockey.

I guess your only other option is to develop a medical condition.

It is in Canada. Not where he is though I guess. I think there's a lot more drug testing at work in the U.S. than in Canada in general. We don't do a lot of it at all.

Can't say for sure about these specifics but they did close some tax loopholes a few years back. That started when the whole look at how much tax is being evaded using overseas Cayman Islands type things. The public was outraged at examples of rich guys paying less tax than ordinary people so they went after a ton of loopholes. Tavares may have been caught up in that so I guess his Leaf PJs ended up costing him. I have no sympathy for him. As for players not wanting to play in Canada that is already a thing for some and we all know how no tax states like Florida get an advantage but I doubt it affects much. Matthews, McDavid, lots of big name Canada signings. They can make money other ways up here due to the popularity.

Ya, I guess if you are being drug tested that would sink you. I'd be tempted to find another job 🙂

buy out. just like that. To the second sentence though I don't agree that greenway is suited for the 3rd line. The numbering maybe doesn't matter but if your lines are numbered down by ice time (1st line gets the most) Greenway, on this roster is most suited as a complimentary second line piece. They seem to be stuck on balancing lines rather than assigning roles and it's a strategy I disagree with. How the players fit together in their roles matters more to me than isolated individual ability. Skinner is of no value to me. 1000 games this year (are they having a celebration?) and not one playoff game. Is that just bad luck or is it partly because of him? I know my answer.

and it should be. Now really, seriously, does ANYBODY find that first period acceptable at this stage and does ANYBODY still think Granato shouldn't be fired? To me it's so past the question of a debate it's ridiculous. He should have been fired months ago. Edibles?