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mll

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Everything posted by mll

  1. They are looking to have the play-ins done in around 8 days. That could be up to 26 games per hub - 4 x 5 + the 6 games of the bye-teams. They have to play 3 games per day to meet that schedule. League preference is Toronto. They don't want the home city to be stationed at home for equity reasons. Vancouver and Vegas are both in the West.
  2. They are also looking into changing the calendar going forward - not just for next season. The networks believe it will increase viewership to start the season later. There is too much competition with other major sports in October. Most viewership is late winter and spring. Home games are profitable from mid-January onwards. With the losses piling up and the need to agree on a new US TV deal - changing the dates of the season could be part of it.
  3. This chart below is from a Berkshire article using the same tracking technology where he measured chances at 5v5 from 1 January onwards. The Canucks (in green) generate less than they allow - the difference between their "for" and "against" are negative. Not all chances are equal though. It is significantly more dangerous to try and score off a cross ice pass than a clear sighted shot. Anything that can generate lateral movement will make life more complicated for the goalies. Both the Wild and Canucks have scored 66 goals at 5v5 over that stretch (in 28 games for the Wild vs 29 for the Canucks). The Wild generate mostly more but don't have the high end finishing skills of the Canucks, where the Canucks need less opportunities to capitalise. They do generate more than the Wild off the cycle and use cross-ice passes more (forcing goalies to move laterally). They also have Pettersson, Boeser who can score from the perimeter. The Wild are one of the best defensive teams in the league. They give up very little from the prime scoring areas. Their goalies have been below average. Their "against" can serve as indication of the gap to a solid defensive team. The Wild did get better goaltending in the 2nd part of the season when they decided to stop forcing starts on Dubnyk. They allowed 52 goals while the Canucks were last in the league allowing 71 over that stretch.
  4. They are front runners but the players will have to vote on the full return to play package including the 2 hub cities.
  5. @DeNiro per the other thread. Mike Kelly using Sportlogiq's tracking technology identified team speed as the biggest question for the Canucks - the article is from 1 May. https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/one-big-question-canadas-five-stanley-cup-playoff-hopefuls/ Biggest Question: Team Speed The Canucks are in a fight to make the playoffs, tied with the Nashville Predators for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference. Who knows what kind of playoff format we’ll see if/when the season resumes, but the biggest question I have with this team is whether a lack of team speed will be an issue in the post-season. Potential first round match-ups include the Avalanche, Golden Knights and Oilers – all teams that play with a lot of pace. The Canucks create the fewest amount of scoring chances off the rush of any team in the NHL and they allow the second most. Vancouver doesn’t have the team speed to create a lot of quick-strike offence and as a result need to establish a presence low in the offensive zone to generate quality scoring chances. They do this well, leading the NHL in goals scored off the cycle. However, playing deep in the offensive zone as often as they do and not having an abundance of team speed to track back is what contributes to a lot of the rush chances and goals against. This lack of team speed could be an issue against a team that breaks the puck out as well as the Blues or teams that play with the kind of pace the Avs and Golden Knights do. The Canucks have a lot going for them. Jacob Markstrom has been brilliant this season, Quinn Hughes will be a Calder finalist and frankly, I’d have him top-five for the Norris Trophy as well. Their top-six, led by Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller, has been great. But, my big question with the Canucks is whether they’ll be able to handle an opponent whose game is predicated on quick puck movement.
  6. They are grouped by conference. The league apparently would prefer that the home team doesn't play at home for equity. That's in part why Toronto is the preferred hub over Vancouver. LA is apparently the preferred US option if they can't set up in Canada. The East would be in Vegas and the West in Toronto/LA. Sportsnet using Sportlogiq's tracking technology identified team speed as the Canucks' biggest question. They led the league in goals off the cycle but were last in creating rush scoring chances while allowing the 2nd most against. I'll post the article in the Canucks-Minnesota thread to not derail this one.
  7. Vegas has several places with ice year long. The NHL wants complete isolation from the external world so not all might be suitable for the NHL. As part of their bid Vegas suggested to put up NHL ice at two hotels. The Vegas practice facility has 2 sheets. That would be 4 sheets of ice isolated from the public. The plan is to have the preliminary round completed in about 1.5 weeks - up to 26 games per conference. After the preliminary round it would leave 8 teams for 4 sheets of ice.
  8. Staff in regular contact with the players like bus drivers will apparently be isolated too. They will try and make the bubble as air tight as possible. Russo on his podcast talks of how the protocol is going to be so strict that the league is worried about the players' psyche. They would be in isolation for possibly over 2 months. Even if the country continues to open up the league won't relax the protocol and players will remain confined to the bubble for the duration of the playoffs. That's why the league is so concerned about finding the most comfortable venues possible with entertainment options like golf course, movie theatre that they can seal off to the rest of the world. Players need something to do when they aren't playing. Vegas is probably one of the most obvious place to create that bubble.
  9. The NHL's bubble is likely safer than what quite a few players are doing now. Gaudette found a rink with gym in NJD where he has been skating for a while now. Boeser drove to South Dakota with a few friends to attend a training camp - for phase 2 the NHL recommends to avoid car pooling. Boeser also confirmed that he will be skating with other NHLers at one of Minnesota's suburban rinks. It's the state with the most NHLers and most play in the Beauty League together. Hard to imagine that those rinks have the same strict protocols as the NHLs. They are probably also non NHLers skating there too. Doubt they are investing as much as the NHL in sanitisation. Vegas players have apparently been skating together for a couple of months already. In Sweden rinks are open and players are scrimmaging, puck battles and all. Sweden never went in a lockdown and restaurants, training facilities, shops stayed open. Players aren't living in a bubble. The NHL wants to create an air tight bubble where players won't be allowed to go outside of the bubble - not even for a short walk. They are going to be isolated from the outside world and there will be regular testing.
  10. Nashville has most likely no interest in either. It's a veteran team that has their window wide open and has no time for developing players. Was the main reason they moved Fiala. Poile made the bet two weeks before trading him that he was going to become a 30 goal scorer. He explained that Granlund fit their timeline better as Fiala needed more development time.
  11. Safety is huge. They are going to be completely isolating the players from the rest of the world. They are looking for locations where they can have an airtight bubble. The hotels won't be open to anyone else.
  12. Players have to sign off on the hub cities - they are going to vote on the complete return to play plan.
  13. Vegas has apparently already been approved. The league is setting up a bubble where players can't go outside of that bubble. They apparently have arrangements were the hotels would be for the NHL alone. They will be isolated from the outside world and can only move around within the boundaries of that bubble. @aGENT Fwiw Russo does think that Vancouver is a good possibility because of the ability to set up that bubble. It's also why LA is apparently a possible location. Training camp is set for 10 July and players coming back from Europe will have to quarantine for 14 days. The protocol has to be approved within the next 2 weeks. It will go through a full player vote.
  14. Each conference is in one hub. They could be playing 3 games per day per hub. It's not really feasible to have games for the Eastern conference starting at 8pm Vancouver time - that's 11pm out East.
  15. Canucks-Wild: Key statistics for Stanley Cup Qualifier series https://www.nhl.com/news/vancouver-canucks-minnesota-wild-key-statistics/c-317086116 NHL.com goes Behind the Numbers to identify key statistics for each of the eight best-of-5 series in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers. Today, a look at the matchup between the Vancouver Canucks and Minnesota Wild. Power play One key area in the series could be the Vancouver Canucks' advantage on the power play. Vancouver was fourth in the NHL during the season (24.1 percent); the Minnesota Wild were 14th (20.3 percent). Rookie defenseman Quinn Hughes was tied for the Canucks lead in power-play points (25) with forward J.T. Miller. One trend worth noting is the Wild's power play was ranked 20th (17.8 percent) from the start of the season until Dec. 31 but finished strong, converting 26.4 percent of its chances until the season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. That ranked fourth in the League behind the New York Rangers (29 percent), Edmonton Oilers (28.2 percent) and Dallas Stars (27.4 percent). What changed? The emergence of forward Kevin Fiala, who scored eight power-play goals in the final 28 games, which was third in the League behind Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl and Rangers center Mika Zibanejad (nine each). Save percentage Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom was 11th in the NHL among those who played at least 30 games this season with a .918 save percentage. He had an .876 save percentage on the penalty kill (16th) and a .925 save percentage at even strength, which was tied for ninth with Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning (minimum 30 games). Markstrom sustained a knee injury in late February but is expected to be back whenever the Qualifying Round begins. The Canucks should have an advantage in goal against the Wild, who alternated between Alex Stalockand Devan Dubnyk during the season. Stalock's numbers (20-11-4, .918 save percentage) suggest he could be their starter in Game 1; Dubnyk went 12-15-2 with an .890 save percentage in 30 games (28 starts). Stalock had a strong finish to the season with 11 wins since Jan. 1, which was tied for sixth in the NHL with Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins, Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens, Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers, Jordan Binnington of the St. Louis Blues and Marc-Andre Fleury of the Vegas Golden Knights. Shot attempts differential The Wild were minus-48 in shot attempts differential before the season pause; the Canucks were minus-201. This could be a significant indicator of how the series will be played, considering the stat suggests Minnesota is better at controlling play 5-on-5. If this theory holds true, the Wild will be able to apply more pressure on Markstrom at even strength, which could lead to more offense and relieve pressure from their power play. Minnesota also scored 156 goals at 5-on-5, which ranked sixth in the NHL. Vancouver scored 141 (18th).
  16. Toronto is apparently the preferred 2nd hub city provided the quarantine rule gets adjusted. Chris Johnston on Sportsnet: "Ideally, the NHL would like to have a Canadian city serve as a hub alongside Vegas, but that won’t be finalized until the federal government makes a ruling. Toronto is the preferred destination, assuming the quarantine issue can be managed." Vancouver was probably never serious contenders with the league focused early on Vegas. It was unlikely that they would want 2 hubs that far west. Vancouver, Vegas and Arizona are the only 3 teams out of the 24 sharing that time zone. It's a problem for viewership in the Eastern conference. Even the West has most teams stationed further east. The league wants players to just go to the rink and back in their hotel rooms to avoid external contact. That's why via Friedman in his 31 thoughts: "One NHL player indicated that one of the things he and his teammates brought up was whether or not three or four restaurants at each hub could be “bought” for the duration so that only players and their families could go there. No general public, just them. The idea was to have somewhere else to go besides the rinks and the hotel."
  17. Doesn't apply to Tryamkin. He's not signing a new ELC. He is a RFA and cannot sign for this season regardless of what happens with these new ELC players.
  18. NJD actually had one of the best goalies in the league in the 2nd half of the season. Blackwood is still a rookie but they believe that he will be their starter for years to come. Interim GM Fitzgerald calls Blackwood one of their pillars to build around.
  19. Tryamkin is not impacted by that ruling. He is RFA and not a new ELC player. He had to be signed by 1 December to be allowed to play. Benning doesn't want to negotiate a contract before he has a better idea of the cap. It's more wondering how patient/confident he is that a contract will eventually get done. He's likely not a priority or he would have already been signed so it leaves him wondering if he will even get the 2-3M he is asking for. It's NYI that are screwed by that rule not really Sorokin. Sorokin wasn't going to play but he would have been in the fold and could start training with the team. The KHL would likely pay him as much as his ELC - he's a top goalie there. He's not losing money by delaying. The issue is about NYI having him under team control for possibly only 1 year. It affects their window, their cap as UFAs are more expensive and if he decides to leave as UFA they are left with an ageing Varlamov and possibly no future number 1.
  20. Tryamkin is not impacted by this decision. He is RFA and can't play regardless what the league decides with players like Sorokin. Sorokin wants to play in the NHL - the only team he can sign with is NYI as he was drafted by them. Doesn't mean he wants to be an Islander for life. If he stays in the KHL next season he will be 26 when he comes over. At that age he can only sign a 1 year ELC which could possibly bring him straight to UFA given the discussions of adjusting the calendar year going forward. It's not him looking to become a UFA. It's more expensive to sign UFAs than it is RFAs as they can also decide to part and look for a contract elsewhere. I find so understandable that NYI are upset. Losing a player for a year has financial consequences but it also impacts a team's window.
  21. The league's explanation was not about the pandemic but about how these guys are ringers. Boeser, Makar, Hughes made impacts after signing. I wouldn't be so confident that it's just for this season. A few wins makes a difference in making the playoffs. If teams don't have reliable backups they could end up overworking their starter - see Price and it increases the risk of injuries. It's also financial. Teams can't just lose a year. Players get older, become UFAs. Sorokin also turns 25 this summer. At 27 he can be UFA. With the discussions about changing the season's calendar - he could be UFA after just 1 season. Less time to evaluate him too. With training camp date set at 10 July they need a resolution soon as these guys would also need to get their visas and fly over. Hopefully they just honour the rule.
  22. They arbitrarily changed it. That's why the NHLPA is fighting it. It's putting teams at risk of losing players. It's not insignificant. The justification is that they are ringers but they are also allowing juniors to play provided they signed contracts earlier. Injured players are also coming back with teams significantly exceeding the cap - no cap counting as it woulnd't work otherwise. Penguins get Guentzel back after using his LTIR cap hit to get Zucker. Canucks would have never been able to afford Toffoli without Ferland/Marksrtom on LTIR. Those teams kept cap space for those new ELCs - they knew they were adding them after the deadline. Yet they can't add them for now because the league considers them ringers. It's actually a pretty bad situation for NYI. He's an important part of their window. They are losing a year. It's cap management too with contracts expiring, players reaching UFA. Unlikely that they can find a backup goalie at Sorokin's ELC cost that could provide the same level of play. There's a reason he's considered their future starter. Every player whose rights belong to the team are on the reserve list. Horvat, Boeser etc are on the reserve list. It's limited to 90 players.
  23. Contracts have to respect certain limits and that would fall out of it. The lowest salary can't be less than 50% of the highest year. There's also a variability rule. There are apparently CBA discussions to limit signing bonuses and have the salary remain flat throughout the contract. There is escrow on bonuses. Not sure about the payment/withholding arrangements but there is escrow.
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