Official NHL 2010-2011 thread

[l.moustakas]

I really only focus on sections related to the cap. As salary forfeitures due to suspensions is relevant to the cap, I have to pay attention to that rule. Heck, I should admit I wasn't aware of that rule until this season when the person who runs CapGeek brought it to my attention; after a couple of back and forths, we figured out how it should be interpreted. Without getting into too many details, it's a poorly worded rule that gave me a lot of grief. A quick example is that the CBA states that the player forfeits x salary upon suspension, yadda, yadda, yadda. Pages earlier, it says that salary = cap hit...so why they didn't just say that the player forfeits x cap hit is beyond me. But I digress, I'm sure this isn't exactly riveting reading here (sure wasn't riveting typing...).

I disagree. The only thing remotely riveting about the lockout was all the learning it permitted about the CBA and its intricacies. Of course, as coverage has been more to hockey games and away from hockey business since then, my knowledge has slowly eroded. While I gladly digest books about hockey scouting and strategies, I'm not sure i'm up to stomaching a full review of the CBA. So having someone spell it out for me is, well, nice.

[l.moustakas]

One things the NHL has really done well over the past two years is the "History Will Be Made" ads. Here are the 6 new ones for 2011: http://www.hockeyfights.com/forums/f16/2011-history-will-made-commercials-157646/

[dlbalr]

Ottawa lands the big fish of NCAA free agency, signing Stéphane Da Costa to a 2 year deal, with max bonuses. This means his cap hit will sit in Tavares/Stamkos territory, at $3.75 million this season and next. (Yes, the Sens will burn a year off his entry level deal by playing him between now and the end of the season.) 2 weeks ago, I'd have said there was no way he was getting a max contract, I was thinking somewhere closer to Prosser/Wellman territory like Minnesota last year. Interestingly enough, the Wild were one of the finalists to land him.

Al Montoya's new deal with the Isles is for a curious amount, $601,000 on a 1-way deal. Props to him for taking advantage of his chance to actually play in the NHL. Wonder how much Garth Snow had to beg his owner to pay that extra grand...

[JoeLassister]

http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2011/3/23/2065528/nhl-penalties-2010-2011

SB nation with a great take on two categories of penalties : cheating and dirty.

Habs are in the top 4 for both...

[Dalhabs]

Back to the old Chara hit again. Everybody crying out for Douglas Murray to be suspended for his hit on Visnovski in Anaheim. Id say Douggies hit was cleaner than Charas attempt of murder.

[lazy26]

Back to the old Chara hit again. Everybody crying out for Douglas Murray to be suspended for his hit on Visnovski in Anaheim. Id say Douggies hit was cleaner than Charas attempt of murder.

I can't find any good video to show the dirtiness of the hit. From what I can see, it looks a bit late, but mostly just awkward which led to a tumble into the boards.

[JoeLassister]

Props to the Caps who are battling out for the 1st place in the East despite their crazy losing streak around Christmas.

[dlbalr]

Big time choke job by Boston, blowing a 3-0 lead more than halfway through the 2nd against the Rangers. And the playoff race gets tighter...

[JoeLassister]

Big time choke job by Boston, blowing a 3-0 lead more than halfway through the 2nd against the Rangers. And the playoff race gets tighter...

hahahaha Good ol' Bruins. We've seen this exact same situation in the playoffs last year. Boston and San Jose, same fight.

[BrenDittero]

hahahaha Good ol' Bruins. We've seen this exact same situation in the playoffs last year. Boston and San Jose, same fight.

As I watched the highlights this morning I got the feeling that I'd seen this before...

5 unanswered goals, way to go Bruins...keep up the good work.

Edited April 5, 2011 by BrenDittero

[dlbalr]

Michael Leighton on re-entry waivers as the Flyers are looking to have him around for the playoffs. If someone were to claim him, they'd have to pay him $800,000 with a cap hit of $775,000. For a team looking for a bargain backup, he might actually fit the bill. Note that I'm not advocating the Habs claim him but there are some smaller market teams that could use him. That said, I suspect he'll clear.

[lazy26]

Michael Leighton on re-entry waivers as the Flyers are looking to have him around for the playoffs. If someone were to claim him, they'd have to pay him $800,000 with a cap hit of $775,000. For a team looking for a bargain backup, he might actually fit the bill. Note that I'm not advocating the Habs claim him but there are some smaller market teams that could use him. That said, I suspect he'll clear.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but he'd be ineligible to play in the NHL this year if claimed, right Brian? Have to think he'd clear as a result.

[dlbalr]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but he'd be ineligible to play in the NHL this year if claimed, right Brian? Have to think he'd clear as a result.

Correct. But is that really a deterrent to a team like, say, Colorado? Elliott/Budaj better not be their tandem next year, so they would be undeterred if they wanted Leighton next season backing up...well, somebody not named Elliott or Budaj for their own sake.

[lazy26]

Correct. But is that really a deterrent to a team like, say, Colorado? Elliott/Budaj better not be their tandem next year, so they would be undeterred if they wanted Leighton next season backing up...well, somebody not named Elliott or Budaj for their own sake.

Good point, but given that there is a glut of goaltenders available this off-season, I'd wait if I were GM. But you're certainly right insofar that you definitely can't beat that price for a decent backup.

[BlueKross]

Good point, but given that there is a glut of goaltenders available this off-season, I'd wait if I were GM. But you're certainly right insofar that you definitely can't beat that price for a decent backup.

Just, why can't he play in NHL? What's the point of putting him on waivers if your the only team that can use him? The waiver thing gets more convoluted every day.

Edited April 7, 2011 by BlueKross

[dlbalr]

Just, why can't he play in NHL? What's the point of putting him on waivers if your the only team that can use him? The waiver thing gets more convoluted every day.

That's why you do it. If no one else can use him this year, it lowers the potential suitors...though with a week left in the season I'm inclined to throw that notion out the window. Let's say the Bulldogs get eliminated before the Habs do and they intend to call Boyd up. He'd be on re-entry waivers and any claiming team wouldn't be able to use him but it would keep Boyd from being available to Montreal...the Habs did this to Calgary years ago with Benoit Gratton so that he wouldn't have to face the Citadelles in the playoffs (wasn't re-entry waivers but basically the same premise). Philly was running a bit of a risk with Leighton but evidently they're the only team in the NHL that thinks he's an NHL goalie.

[TurdBurglar]

Raffi Torres suspended 4 games.

Link the the NHL.com report;

http://www.nhl.com/i...s.htm?id=558613

Is it just me or is anyone else tired of players deliberately putting themselves in dangerous situations like Eberle put himself in for the hit? Fifteen years ago a smart player never turned their back on the play when going in a corner, I had that drilled in my head when I was playing. Why? because it's dangerous and you were getting hit, so make sure you were in position to take the hit safely. Fifteen years ago player knew skating with their head down was an invitation to get crushed. Now the rules have changed to address serious injuries caused by these plays and players are abusing them. You watch any game and at least 10 times a game now players go in the corner with their head down and back to oncoming players.

I think it's time the NHL address the issue of players putting themselves in dangerous situations on purpose. If they can't address that issue then take hitting out of the game altogether. What is the point of having a contact sport when rules are narrowing down good contact and players are abusing it because they can't take a hit anymore? In a few years everyone is going to be skating backwards anyway so they can't be hit. It's ridiculous.

Instead of suspending Torres, Colin Campbell should go to Eberle, ask him, "Did it hurt? Bet your not going to do that again anytime soon, are you?" (all, Oilers not making the playoffs, jokes aside)

[BrenDittero]

Raffi Torres suspended 4 games.

Link the the NHL.com report;

http://www.nhl.com/i...s.htm?id=558613

Is it just me or is anyone else tired of players deliberately putting themselves in dangerous situations like Eberle put himself in for the hit? Fifteen years ago a smart player never turned their back on the play when going in a corner, I had that drilled in my head when I was playing. Why? because it's dangerous and you were getting hit, so make sure you were in position to take the hit safely. Fifteen years ago player knew skating with their head down was an invitation to get crushed. Now the rules have changed to address serious injuries caused by these plays and players are abusing them. You watch any game and at least 10 times a game now players go in the corner with their head down and back to oncoming players.

I think it's time the NHL address the issue of players putting themselves in dangerous situations on purpose. If they can't address that issue then take hitting out of the game altogether. What is the point of having a contact sport when rules are narrowing down good contact and players are abusing it because they can't take a hit anymore? In a few years everyone is going to be skating backwards anyway so they can't be hit. It's ridiculous.

Instead of suspending Torres, Colin Campbell should go to Eberle, ask him, "Did it hurt? Bet your not going to do that again anytime soon, are you?" (all, Oilers not making the playoffs, jokes aside)

Can't see how that hit could be interpreted as being Eberle's fault.

Not to be jerk about this but by your logic, it's Patches fault for trying to go around Chara and putting himself in a potentially dangerous situation.

Don't buy it bud.

Edited April 8, 2011 by BrenDittero

[BTH]

Raffi Torres suspended 4 games.

Link the the NHL.com report;

http://www.nhl.com/i...s.htm?id=558613

Is it just me or is anyone else tired of players deliberately putting themselves in dangerous situations like Eberle put himself in for the hit? Fifteen years ago a smart player never turned their back on the play when going in a corner, I had that drilled in my head when I was playing. Why? because it's dangerous and you were getting hit, so make sure you were in position to take the hit safely. Fifteen years ago player knew skating with their head down was an invitation to get crushed. Now the rules have changed to address serious injuries caused by these plays and players are abusing them. You watch any game and at least 10 times a game now players go in the corner with their head down and back to oncoming players.

I think it's time the NHL address the issue of players putting themselves in dangerous situations on purpose. If they can't address that issue then take hitting out of the game altogether. What is the point of having a contact sport when rules are narrowing down good contact and players are abusing it because they can't take a hit anymore? In a few years everyone is going to be skating backwards anyway so they can't be hit. It's ridiculous.

Instead of suspending Torres, Colin Campbell should go to Eberle, ask him, "Did it hurt? Bet your not going to do that again anytime soon, are you?" (all, Oilers not making the playoffs, jokes aside)

I like the suspension. Eberle arguably risked his own safety with a reckless play, Torres risked somebody else's safety with a reckless play.

[TurdBurglar]

Can' see how that hit could be interpreted as being Eberle's fault.

Not to be jerk about this but by your logic, it's Patches fault for trying to go around Chara and putting himself in a potentially dangerous situation.

Don't buy it bud.

Is it that you didn't understand my point or you actually wanted to be a jerk about it? What did Patches do to put himself in danger? Nothing, he skated to open boards with his head up and front to the play, then Chara checked him, pushing his head into the stanchion. My point was players turning their back to oncoming hits and putting their head down skating into a dangerous situations.

If you watch a reply of the Eberle hit, Eberle was crouched to about half his normal height, going head-first to the puck and was hit by a clean hit that made contact with his head. If he was skating upright, like he does 99% of the time, it would have been a clean hit. The problem was because he put himself in the position where his head contacted Torres' elbow, not because the elbow is high or targeting the head, but because the head is at elbow level. It's the same thing if you get called for high-sticking if someone falls and their face hits your stick on the ice. Does the stick contact the face? Yes, therefore by this suspension's logic, this would be a high-sticking penalty. In reality the stick isn't high therefore it's not a penalty. Eberle's head wasn't targeted by an elbow, it was at elbow height on Eberle's behalf, not Torres. It's like Gionta skating towards Pronger and headbutting him in the arm, that is a headshot, therefore it's suspendable, right? Pronger's arm made contact with Gionta's head, and Gionta is shorter so the contact was around the elbow region of Pronger, so there's no other explanation, Pronger must be suspended. What if Eberle had his skate caught in the ice and went head on into the boards. Does the boards get a suspension because he hurt himself? I can come up with a dozen hypothetical situations similar to the Eberle hit and none are the other team's fault.

The rules are there to keep players from getting hurt when other players are intentionally attempting to injure, not so players can buy time with the puck by turning their back to oncoming players or lead with their head to get the extra reach. The hitting from behind rule was added to stop players from finishing a check on an icing call when they knew they lost the race to the puck. The headshot rule was added to keep players from targeting the head on a hit. Both to reduce injuries, both being abused so players can buy time with the puck or try to win a lost battle to the puck. When do these players have to take responsibility for their actions?

[BrenDittero]

Is it that you didn't understand my point or you actually wanted to be a jerk about it? What did Patches do to put himself in danger? Nothing, he skated to open boards with his head up and front to the play, then Chara checked him, pushing his head into the stanchion. My point was players turning their back to oncoming hits and putting their head down skating into a dangerous situations.

If you watch a reply of the Eberle hit, Eberle was crouched to about half his normal height, going head-first to the puck and was hit by a clean hit that made contact with his head. If he was skating upright, like he does 99% of the time, it would have been a clean hit. The problem was because he put himself in the position where his head contacted Torres' elbow, not because the elbow is high or targeting the head, but because the head is at elbow level. It's the same thing if you get called for high-sticking if someone falls and their face hits your stick on the ice. Does the stick contact the face? Yes, therefore by this suspension's logic, this would be a high-sticking penalty. In reality the stick isn't high therefore it's not a penalty. Eberle's head wasn't targeted by an elbow, it was at elbow height on Eberle's behalf, not Torres. It's like Gionta skating towards Pronger and headbutting him in the arm, that is a headshot, therefore it's suspendable, right? Pronger's arm made contact with Gionta's head, and Gionta is shorter so the contact was around the elbow region of Pronger, so there's no other explanation, Pronger must be suspended. What if Eberle had his skate caught in the ice and went head on into the boards. Does the boards get a suspension because he hurt himself? I can come up with a dozen hypothetical situations similar to the Eberle hit and none are the other team's fault.

The rules are there to keep players from getting hurt when other players are intentionally attempting to injure, not so players can buy time with the puck by turning their back to oncoming players or lead with their head to get the extra reach. The hitting from behind rule was added to stop players from finishing a check on an icing call when they knew they lost the race to the puck. The headshot rule was added to keep players from targeting the head on a hit. Both to reduce injuries, both being abused so players can buy time with the puck or try to win a lost battle to the puck. When do these players have to take responsibility for their actions?

I don't understand why people want to blame the player that got hurt in questionable plays like this.

With regards to the video footage or Torres hitting Eberle ( not hypothetical examples of things that could happen ) it looks to me that Eberle is skating hard for the puck and Torres lines him up, seeing that the guy could be in a vulnerable spot.

Why do we need to blame Eberle for getting rail roaded? His head was down for a split second, I don't think that warrants the explanation that he deliberately put himself in harms way.

Do you think he wanted that to happen? Probably not.

He wasn't skating with the puck and put his head down, he was going for it in the corner and got run over before he got there.

Also, Torres drops his gloves immediately, not the actions of a guy who knows he's innocent.

People tried to make the same sort of arguments with Chara / Pacioretty. He should have known where he was, shouldn't have tried to go in back of Chara, Patches put himself in a dangerous situation...trying to deflect blame for another players reckless move.

Torres deserves the suspension he got.

Edited April 8, 2011 by BrenDittero

[BlueKross]

Obviously you choose not to listen to what Turd/B is saying. Players routinely now turn their backs to on coming checkers, because they believe they are safe. Before, you would not dare turn your back unless you were skating away. I strongly suggest that they bring back the hip check as the accepted mode of contact. It lowers the center of force away from head, it is easier to cushion your back side and there is no hard elbow pads/ shoulder pads/ helmet in the contact area. Furthermore to be an effective check you would need momentum from the offensive player.

[BrenDittero]

Obviously you choose not to listen to what Turd/B is saying. Players routinely now turn their backs to on coming checkers, because they believe they are safe. Before, you would not dare turn your back unless you were skating away. I strongly suggest that they bring back the hip check as the accepted mode of contact. It lowers the center of force away from head, it is easier to cushion your back side and there is no hard elbow pads/ shoulder pads/ helmet in the contact area. Furthermore to be an effective check you would need momentum from the offensive player.

Yes, players routinely turn their back on in coming checks. It's dangerous, etc etc. No disagreement there.

I'm commenting specifically on the Torres / Eberle hit, the video that Mr. Burglar posted and the basis of his argument / commentary.

It isn't a case of a guy getting crushed in the corner with his back turned, it's a player racing for the puck and getting side swiped 8-10 feet from the corner.

Torres takes Eberle out with what looks to be his elbow and it appears to me to be a bit of a cheap shot.

Based on that, I can't find any reason why someone would say that Eberle needs to learn a lesson and Torres should get a walk.

Maybe I'm completely wrong but TB made a post looking for a reply and I gave my opinion.

I'm sure Cherry, Milbury and the others will deem it a hockey play as well.

Edited April 8, 2011 by BrenDittero

[BlueKross]

I got the impression that Mr. B was talking more of the game itself and not any specific hit. I have offered up a solution to the head hitting problem, without moving hitting out of game. I would be interested in your comments regarding my solution. There are those who want to move hitting and fighting out of the game, I personnally would not like that game.

[BrenDittero]

I got the impression that Mr. B was talking more of the game itself and not any specific hit. I have offered up a solution to the head hitting problem, without moving hitting out of game. I would be interested in your comments regarding my solution. There are those who want to move hitting and fighting out of the game, I personnally would not like that game.

Your solution is part of many things that might help get head hits under control.

Softening up padding might work as well.

The tough part with head hits is that, for the most part, they are decisions that players are intentionally making. Unless they get caught, then it was an accident.

If a player drills another player in the head with and elbow it is most of the time on purpose.

If a player checks another's head into the boards that is also a decision because he feels he needs to finish that check to keep his job.

I think that trying to figure out how to change the thought process of offending players is the biggest challenge and I have no idea how to go about that.

I don't necessarily want to see hits and fights get removed from the game, but if someone decided to do it I don't think I would enjoy the sport any less.

Watching the Habs win would still be awesome.

Watching the playoffs would still be entertaining.

Watching the cup final would still be great.

The only things that would suffer are Don Cherry's Rock'em Sock'em collections and the NHL's ability to sell the game as a fast paced full contact sport.