That Aud Smell

I'm pretty sure that that's not true - like, decidedly so. I understand what you're saying, but I think leadership here is being overblown. The team is bad, as constructed and as deployed. I don't think an additional leadership boost would change much of that's happening. Maybe it'd be worth another win or two?

Quite possibly. In retrospect, and putting aside his brutal honesty during locker room clean-out, I can't quite wrap my head around why ROR had to go. At the time, I was basically like, "well, they must have their reasons. Because reasons." A year or so removed, I'm a little more like: WTF? Holy fish balls. Remember all the talk about ROR being chronically a step behind the play and not really outfitted for the modern NHL game? Talk that I, along with others, engaged in? Yeah. Fook that talk.

I don't think there's any way of knowing whether the team's truly quit on their coach, and, if so, what role Eichel's had in that. I think it's far more likely that the natural wear and tear of a(nother) disappointing season is starting to affect how the team is playing as a unit and individuals. Eichel apparently gave a rousing speech after (?) the MTL game. I suspect he's doing all he can. This team stinks, though. Know who doesn't stink? Eichel. He's a terrific player - a legit 1C.

I don't believe so. The new AD came from ... Memphis?

Agreed. As best I can tell, the team's problem is not its best forward. The team's problem is that it has a lot of other forwards who don't/can't do much.

I now have absolutely no idea what the plan was or is with this guy.

I don't entirely disagree on the first bit above. Emotionally, it resonated with me because I'm so out of sorts with the club. As to the second excerpt, I think that's possible. I still want to see what he does on a team with proper depth.

Who's Mark Alnutt hired at UB?

That's the first thing I've read of Harrington's in a long, long time. It certainly is. But far from being unjustified. A little unfair in spots, but defensibly so. I read the thing, reflexively prepared to shake my head yet again and dismiss Harrington, but found myself agreeing with it over and over again. I don't read Graham anymore either (mostly because I'm too cheap for The Athletic). But his Twitter presence is somehow more repugnant , toxic than Harrington's ever was.

'zactly. This was his time. UB's going to take a few steps back, regardless of who's coaching over the next couple of years. Arguably, he agreed to sign another extension in order to help protect the university and possibly diminish his options with suitors (who may not have liked a big buyout number). Agreed. Godspeed, Nate Oats.

I'm so dead inside that I'm resigned to waiting until the fall to see how the new guys are doing.

@PASabreFan: The new thread title is a bit wonky, IMO. Might I suggest something more like Pegulas' Press Conference of March 26th.

Terry is absolutely the de facto president of hockey operations.

can/should we have a single thread for conversations regarding content from the Pegulas' press conference?

among other things, the *balance* he showed in that fight was very impressive. hey - here's hoping.

^

there are contexts in which it makes sense to cross an international border and scoop up the niagara region of ontario in order to define greater Buffalo's metro area. i don't think this is one of those contexts. and not for nothing, the ontario ministry of finance recently pegged greater toronto's population at 6.9 million (nice) as of year's end 2017 and projected it to grow to nearly 10 million in the next 20 years.

It's a tempting thing to think, I admit. Like I said: Tempting. This is a good post - especially this part (I saw some charts on this point recently, and it was amazing how closely their games have resembled each other). Anyhoo -- I come back to the touchstone of something along the lines of: Blaming the team's best players for the team's struggles is folly. The team sucks because it lacks proper depth, not because it's best players can't shoulder the entire load. Word.

Amazing how that works. I think I misread this as saying he's a #3D on a good winning team. I think you're saying he's a 5/6 on a good winning team and a 3/4 on a lot of teams. And I agree with that. I think we should be mindful that basic Corsi/Fenwick are just the tip of the #fancystats iceberg. I've read several times, in essence, that the way NHL teams deep-dive on this stuff makes Corsi/Fenwick look like addition and subtraction, while the proprietary stuff is more like calculus.

It absolutely was that draft. My memory was foggy though. I thought Dineen asked that question of Pegula in re Risto. Not so. That came up when Zadorov was available. It’s in the clip.

Um, maybe? I'm honestly unsure where those came from -- they were always around though. And I can't say I recall a milkman with a horse.

We've kicked this around here a few times over the years. I can't change my hard-wiring. If I am watching the Leafs play another team in the playoffs, I will be pulling for the Leafs. They were always my secondary team (without ever planning it that way) -- we'd have them tuned in on a small snowy black and white TV, perched on a milk crate in the kitchen, while we made pizzas on a Saturday night. But they're a natural geographic rival, sure. And then there's the role that their visiting fans play at our barn.

That's what it really comes down to, I reckon.

Risto is big, strong, nasty, and can shoot the puck very hard. And he was physically pro ready at a young age. He is also dumb as a box of rocks. In point of fact, it's gotta be more than that. Ray Borque was said to be quite a cement head. But on the ice, he was a bright bulb, a sharp knife. Risto's sample size is plenty big. He has a failing grade in hockey IQ. Bottom 10% in all of pro hockey, I'd wager. Not just the NHL. As much as anything, this reflects poorly on Kevin Dineen (sp), who was frickin' in love with the guy. The BB&G video leaves no doubt on the subject: