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Everything posted by IBatch
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Great job OP. But with the "greatest hits" ... sure from the Sedin era. Would have been nice to see some Peca stuff, Ohlund stuff, even Jovo stuff more Linden, ... Bure makes the cut but he wasn't a hit machine. Sandlak. Snepsts. Butcher, Momesso, - Babych probably the best reverse hit ever on Probert. Barely scratching the surface if Ballard is the on half the tape.
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[PGT] Vancouver Canucks at Los Angeles Kings | Mar. 18, 2023
IBatch replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in Canucks Talk
Maybe not this season, but it was pretty clear what QHs said. Welcome to find the tape and listen. EPs comments at the all-star game also hinted on where he wanted the the team to go, and well they did exactly that trading for Hronek. Duchene wanted out. And COL is a pipe dream. So many things went right for them. OTT blowing up their team after a goal away from the final. Makar. Mckinnon taking off after signing a fair deal for what he'd managed up until then. Barrie for Kadri. Girard. Toews. Manson. It's a big list and a lot of those were trade related. Reality is we were never going to end up in the bottom five. Maybe we slip some spots. If bottom wins the lottery, good odds that's the case, no harm really. If not then yikes, maybe this comes back on us in a bad way. But the simple reality is they don't want a rebuild. It's been said. -
[PGT] Vancouver Canucks at Los Angeles Kings | Mar. 18, 2023
IBatch replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in Canucks Talk
Kuzmenko is proving he's a core player too. He's pulling a Panarin right now. Anyone scoring at a 40 goal pace is valuable. This kid is fun to watch too, and like his smile. -
[PGT] Vancouver Canucks at Los Angeles Kings | Mar. 18, 2023
IBatch replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in Canucks Talk
The team won't take that route because it would also mean trading EP and QHs for the mystery lotto box. They don't want a rebuild. Can't build a team around players that won't want to stay can you? Yes, in most cases, building a contender involves a long period of sucking. Preferably picking top 3 for three years in a row. Stamkos and Hedman were the two pillars that created the foundation for cups a decade later. For us that's EP and QHs, and we are five years in, or half way there, both guys were like picking correctly in the top 3. TB also drafted Drouin. Fixed that mistake soon after with Sergachev. The rest of their crew that was drafted, all were later picks. Kucherov was their Datsyuk pick. No cups without him. Vasilevsky too. CHI and LA also had their own high picks. So we should all agree, that's a requirement. COL, Mckinnon, Makar and Byram. St. Louis? Boston? Also you don't need to be the Oilers or Buffalo. CAR missed 9 in a row too. Obviously management thinks we have enough. And wants to build around EP, QHs and probably Demko. Switching deck chairs. I do think we need to become a better drafting team. It's been too long since we hit on a 3rd rounder, overdue on that front. Kuzmenko is core. Miller is also core. For now anyways. Hronek likely too. Re-tool might fail. But i'd rather keep EP and QHs and give it a chance before completely starting all over. -
Which teams downfall in the playoffs will you enjoy most?
IBatch replied to DeNiro's topic in General Hockey Discussion
Yep. It was media driven maybe, but I sure didn't see it near Ottawa or MTL either. In fact that team was so loved by Ottawa area fans, going to games in the early 2010's, after the run, close to half the sweaters in their barn were Canucks until around 2015. Seemed that way anyways. And never saw or heard any bad behaviour between the fans despite been in enemy territory. It's dwindled now. But there still is a contingent of fans, maybe 30 of them all in one spot, that start Go Canucks Go! chants. Sens quickly overpower that now, but a decade ago it was pretty close. The peak Sedin team, must have made a lot of fans, which is a testament to how great that team was. Cherry cheering for the Bruins made sense given his background, but before the final he was cheering for us too. I saw hundreds of Canuck flags in 2011, living in a small town. Maybe a couple Boston ones. Saw the same for the Habs during the bubble. McLean is a silly character, always has been. For a long time I just thought he was there to handle Cherry. And look silly doing it. Turned out he was an idiot all along. Why he has to add's ridiculous inane esoteric crap like "how a ref I knew growing up tied his skates" (made that up - but would anyone be surprised to see him say that?) is anyone's guess. He for sure spread some ill will. Didn't like the victimhood culture some fans pushed in Vancouver and still do. Don't think it's accurate, and also don't see how that's self serving or a respectful way to represent the team. -
McDavid and the last quarter century
IBatch replied to Baratheon's topic in General Hockey Discussion
Ferguson is considered the first enforcer - those guys could actually play the game too. Even Shultz had 20 goal seasons, pretty hard to do spending 350-400 plus minutes in a box. The story behind why PHI went out and found a half dozen or so of the toughest SOB's in Canada (world) is a good one. Got bullied by a couple St. Louis brothers.... and added fighting as a tactic. They also had some great players (PHI). I'd recommend watching some of the documentaries about that team it's pretty cool. The league hated them. Other teams hated them. Fans too. Police were involved and charges filed in Vancouver.... Boston was also a tough team. Other teams started to follow suit and the enforcer became a thing in hockey, where all teams had one or two bad asses to defend team honour, keep the code in check etc. You know the 90's so should be familiar with how we also had 20-30 excellent players, some HHOFers, (Neely, Shanny) others like Corson, Tochett, Clarke, Kevin Stevens, Kerr ... it was something. Beast mode guys. Corson-Iginla types. Benn and Wilson are probably the only ones left in the game now. That part is kind of sad. Even guys like Orr and Coffey could take care of themselves. The 70's, grew up hearing stories about them from kids five years older and some adults. PHI was a great team ... Wasn't until Big Bird came into the scene that the Habs started to really shine, single handedly went through their roster one at a time, no more PHI flu. Gillies in NYI... Williams. Smyl. Fraser. Snepsts. Delorme. I'm not sure the 94 team could have handled the 82 one in the alley, and that says a lot, because it was big mean and strong. Antoski. Gino. Momesso. Diduck. Babych. Both teams were loaded with character and grit. Vancouver also reacted to the Flyers hockey. So did every other team. Guys like Williams, McSorely, Manson, Probert and Domi could take a regular shift and not hurt you (Manson two all-star games, Probert one - back when you had to earn a spot). Even without the fighting, the goons that was too bad. Worrel, Parker, Twist etc - they didn't belong but expansion led to opening up spots. There wasn't enough enforcers to go around. What the Flyers did, was something. They didn't quite have a dynasty, but the impact on the game lasted for decades. Can't say that about the NYI or MTL dynasties. -
[PGT] Vancouver Canucks at Los Angeles Kings | Mar. 18, 2023
IBatch replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in Canucks Talk
Nice post. Personally, I think Tochett is finding out for himself if QHs and EP can be those guys who play top minutes. Not sure about Demko though, we've seen him get injured, but also think he was ready a month before he actually played - as part of number 1 (keep the tank going). Pronger and AL Mac used to play half a game, did it for years, and for Pronger a couple very deep runs and a cup, and a lot of playoff games. There is a big difference between that standard versus 20-30 games as a non playoff team at the end of the year (90-118ish games year after year). QHs wants it, so does EP (the minutes)... Demko wants the games too. If it backfires, they have the off-season, but think he's testing them, and they both want and are up to the challenge. Hopefully the rest of the players make their off-season fitness goals, Miller, EP and QHs are showing leadership with this. Demko. That could backfire in a bad way. But he's sure giving the guys a reason to win. Tochett does have a little bit of a Torts vibe (he overplayed the twins, couldn't keep lup with what he was asking of them, at 34 or whatever it was) but this team is young and should be pushed to reach a higher standard Fitness and off season have already been brought up - standards need to be higher. -
McDavid and the last quarter century
IBatch replied to Baratheon's topic in General Hockey Discussion
51 then 55 goals weren't enough I guess. Or 43 in the WHA as a 17 year old. Back then there was a lot of folks waiting for him to be broken in half. The media was saying he'd be smashed into smitherings. Maybe he would have without Semenko. But in todays game he'd be scoring like a bandit too. -
[GDT] Around the NHL | March (12-18) 2023
IBatch replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in General Hockey Discussion
For me it's always "to be honest" blah blah blah. Ok end stop. So what you're saying is you're not being honest before? -
[GDT] Around the NHL | March (12-18) 2023
IBatch replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in General Hockey Discussion
No doubt. The book of John is pretty straightforward. Maybe he should start with that. Instead of the book of how many goats I should trade not to get buggered by my neighbour. Edit: Well let's just say it's not Jesus. As for the Bible - it simply means "the Books". A history lesson. The biggest one in there might be made up, but it's also the most important one. Jesus was pure love. That's not what Reimer is doing here. It's pretty lame. -
That's good. Also he won't have to "go to war" like Theo described the league when he first joined. So if we draft him that's ok - im just hoping that size doesn't matter in his case. Theo was a warrior, in much tougher/rougher era. It's hard to find many guys who weigh 150lbs who survived this league. Or 160 for that matter. Get things are reverting back to the 70-80's as far as forwards and D's go. Maybe he can make it. Would he fine if we passed though. Podz was also supposed to be drafted in the top 3.
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New Salary Cap. New Player Representative
IBatch replied to Sharpshooter's topic in General Hockey Discussion
He's already done it before. -
New Salary Cap. New Player Representative
IBatch replied to Sharpshooter's topic in General Hockey Discussion
For sure they are aware of this. But in business it's also an opportunity to fill a void. Bet their next deal is better. -
New Salary Cap. New Player Representative
IBatch replied to Sharpshooter's topic in General Hockey Discussion
Two actually. And that was after couple year period of flat cap during the financial crisis. We bought out Booth and Ballard. -
(proposal) Oliver Ekman-Larsson to Seth Jones
IBatch replied to tan's topic in Proposals and Armchair GM'ing
I've suggested this could be trade we consider for awhile. Agree it's a JB sort of thing too. Best thing for the club still is OEL plays next year and returns to even 80% of his peak form. Don't know how bad his ankle really is. Guess we will find out one way or another by October what the team decides. -
(proposal) Oliver Ekman-Larsson to Seth Jones
IBatch replied to tan's topic in Proposals and Armchair GM'ing
If they matched salaries it's worth considering. But we'd still have to trade a cap dump to even consider it. -
McDavid and the last quarter century
IBatch replied to Baratheon's topic in General Hockey Discussion
Love your interest in what now is hockey history. Each decade for sure had its own flavour. Expansion for sure also had an effect on scoring but not in a positive way when it came to the 90's. SJ quickly figured out how to mimic the trap, as did other talent "challenged" rosters. Hooking and holding and interference had been complained about publicly by Hull, Mario and others pre lockout. It just got worse. Roy changed the game as much as any player popularizing the butterfly. Hall used it - but back then it was frowned upon ... so did Parent to a degree, it's not like it was never part of the goalies thing. 9/10 goals scored along the ice back then. Made it pretty easy to make a guy like Richard Broduer and Vernon - or Furh - who when on would stop a pea at 100 MPH or catch it anyways, despite being short...Irbe lol he stoned Detroit with the trap and his reflexes. Those guys were elite too. Just not technically advanced. As for your tiers - cool. I'd add Orr on the top tier. Potvin, Robinson and Lidstrom on the second tier with Borque. Coffey too although his first ten years were on par with Orr's- and both were tough as nails. I'd actually consider a tier between one and too - and put Roy, Hasek and Coffey there. Get it's about longevity too. Richard needs to be acknowledged, second tier. Have a trophy named after him. Hull senior, 900 pro goals, still considered a top ten fastest skater all-time ... Where Ovi ends up he should as well. Espo was the Wayne Gretzky of the 70's ... people wanted to be him playing street hockey or Bobby Clark and later Lafluer. Dionne was special too. Those guys belong with Lafleur. Dionne scored 400 or so more points playing on mediocre at best teams than Lafluer. Clark is right up there with Gretzky for plus minus for forwards. My first favourite player, because I liked his hair and his smile lol. As far as power plays go ... yes after the lockout the refs were told to call holding, hooking and pick plays that guys since around 1990 had to deal with at an increasing rate. The game is nothing like it was in the 70's - those guys were tough - same as the 80's and the progressively monster sized guys of the 90's to mid 2000's. Expansion and goons. Not the best. But sure did love the product from the time I was little until the late mid-late 90's. The 2000's were bad. As for the modern athlete: The guys in the 80's-90's looked like they were in better shape. Go look at the TB lighting playing volleyball ... wow. My crews vet's looked a lot tighter than that doing 50-60 hours of hard labour daily. Not exactly Bobby Hull or Howe ripped. Not even Kesler ripped. So i don't buy into "guys are in way better shape now " with anything past the 70's. Weightlifting and fitness was a craze back then. The average gen x kid was hitting the gym at 12-13. And spent all their time outside causing trouble. Tochett. Rod the Bod. Chelios. Messier - the boomers also knew their way around a gym. Theo Fleury and Coffey talked about how the game used to be all out war. It's not like that anymore, a lot tamer. Nutrition and sleep therapy only go so far. McDavid, it's great for the game to have a guy playing at another level. My hackles get up a little when it's suggested previous era's couldn't play in todays games. I think that's silly. And like I said, it's not hard to go back on, one decade at a time. Sedins took a ton of abuse until the lockout. After that they had it easy. I'm sure they are grateful for sticking it out. At the start they weren't sure. Edit: Jagr was a RW. -
McDavid and the last quarter century
IBatch replied to Baratheon's topic in General Hockey Discussion
Not really. Just have to go back and look. What players do well or "dominate" in their 30-40's compared to the next class coming up. Iginla was a nothing burger really, Joe N went on to win a cup with Dallas - Iginla went on to be a star of the 2000's but couldn't keep up early on in the 90's when younger. Coffey was a finalist for the Hart his 14th season against the best of the next crop, his final Norris. One day the younger generation will get this when Crosby and Ovi's, Kane and Toews and Bergeron are questioned - same with the Sedins although they were never really beyond reproach. Alfie after the rule changes scoring 100 in his mid thirties, Sakic at 37, Zubov at 37 scoring over 70 for the first time in forever. Jagr coming back and scoring 70ish points as an old man. Thornton. It's not really that hard to go back. Lidstrom couldn't win a trophy until he was 30, living that era, it wasn't hard to imagine why. He wasn't the "perfect human" compared to Borque, Coffey, Al Mac, Blake, Chelios, Leetch etc ... just the best of what was left (Pronger and Neidermayer ) and i'd take prime Pronger first... Anyways. Each era is different. But my favourite part of today is declining save percentage versus rising talent. Expansion... well my 78 year old father in-law, who used to be a Habs fan before he league expanded, thinks half the league is AHLers. He watched the original six I did not. But growing up with a 16-21 team, can say the talent level is barely scratching the surface, and what the majority of the players were willing to do back then compared to today isn't the same. Get it. The games faster (although there still hasn't been an all-star game faster then when Gartner was the commish throw in yet), don't believe me watch the fastest skater comp. Sorry - im not buying it, but glad folks get to see what a next level guy looks like anyways. -
McDavid and the last quarter century
IBatch replied to Baratheon's topic in General Hockey Discussion
Yes. I met Dionne and Lafluer in the mid 90's shortly after they retired at an old timers game. Dionne had 8 points or something ridiculous. Lafluer lit bottle rockets near the end and did a fast lap with the puck and scored. It was cool. Dionne for sure is the greatest player right now, never to win a cup. I believe him when he says "If Montreal picked me instead, i'd have scored 1000 goals with on that team". Pretty sure he could still have played if he wanted to, even after a couple years off and in the dead puck era. -
McDavid and the last quarter century
IBatch replied to Baratheon's topic in General Hockey Discussion
I think I had plus minus or some other column - so deleted them and started again lol. It's from 1980-1989-90... The first one was just centers - then flipped to all skaters but think I had EV points as the main metric. Not plus minus. In the end ... I edited it back to all-skaters, all positions. It just goes to show how dominant both Gretzky and Mario were. They are all HHOFers - and Gretzky and Mario were lapping the field, so was Coffey really. -
McDavid and the last quarter century
IBatch replied to Baratheon's topic in General Hockey Discussion
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McDavid and the last quarter century
IBatch replied to Baratheon's topic in General Hockey Discussion
Yes i read the columns wrong ... 65 EVP . so my bad. Your correct. It's 60 power play points, not 79 which is what I read wrong (added the goals the total points). EP though has a much higher ratio of EV points to PP points. So does all the other top scores aside from Draisatl and RNH. McDavid has 6 Short handed points... 65 + 60 + 6 = 131 EP as a comp: 59 + 18 + 8 = 85 That's ok. What Ovi's done his entire career, just at a higher level then we've seen in a very long time. He's a superstar. But he's not without good company 5 x 5 that's for sure. Crosby, EP, MT and a couple others are right there with him, and EK ahead of him by a fair bit given he's a defenseman, on a bad team. -
McDavid and the last quarter century
IBatch replied to Baratheon's topic in General Hockey Discussion
Jagr was the heir apparent with Lindros for awhile anyways, from Messier, Gretzky and Mario when he wasn't around. Nicholls got boned so bad by the owners in LA. Told him he was safe - he asked before buying a house. Then he did and was traded. Imagine he'd be in the HHOF easily otherwise. And for sure a good case can be made for him, same with Turgeon.