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-AJ-

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Everything posted by -AJ-

  1. 42 seconds left. 6 on 5 goalie pulled with a 3-2 lead.
  2. Beniers will win, but I'd argue that both Power and Skinner are better options.
  3. Might be a great read! I'm in the middle of Howe's book, but admittedly, I find myself less motivated to read these days than I used to be.
  4. The award definitely started out as a sort of "classiest and most respected player" kind of award, but it has morphed into a a bit of a "low PIM" award, which is honestly less interesting. Bobby Hull was a regular Byng finalist and won the Lady Byng in 1964-65 with 32 PIM in 61 games. Although that's not a high number, being over 0.5 PIM-per-game is certainly very high for a Byng winner, but it was more his reputation that likely earned him consideration than his actual penalty count. Don McKenney of the Bruins in the late 50s was a regular finalist with over 20 PIM per game in the 70-game season and won with 28 PIM, one of the highest PIM totals of his career. All that said, although there were more exceptions back in the day, the award does have a long history of going to star players with very low PIM numbers, dating back to seven-time winner Frank Boucher from the late 20s to the mid 30s. Even so, Boucher also won the Byng in 1930-31 with 18 PIM in 44 games, the highest total of his career.
  5. Hughes is probably the best choice, but Point isn't a bad option as well as Kopitar. I wouldn't be surprised if Pettersson finished 4th for the Byng. 14 PIM is a little high for the Lady Byng, but 102 points has got to count for something.
  6. 1st in the NHL in takeaways as well as strong puck possession and +/-. Is also heavily used on Toronto's #1 PK unit and still has strong results despite the difficult PK minutes.
  7. Bergeron will win based on reputation alone, but both Hischier and Marner are arguably better choices. Pettersson had a great year, but he's not gonna be seriously considered when he plays on the worst PK in the league and has a face-off percentage below 45%. Improve those numbers and he's a serious contender.
  8. I kind of want McDavid to cement his historical legacy with more playoff success, so I'd prefer the Oilers to win. That said, the Knights have absurd depth including amazing defensive forwards in Stephenson and Stone as well as one of the top defensive D in the NHL with Pietrangelo, so that could be the undoing of the Oilers.
  9. Bergeron has definitely earned the award for many years and he's a legitimate top contender again this year. That said, I would agree that reputation plays too large a role in the Selke. Need more folks looking at the actual results instead of just picking the guy who wins every year.
  10. He's outstanding defensively, though I'm not sure I'd have him above Hischier and Marner. He needs both better face-off numbers and PK numbers. Still deserving of some real attention though.
  11. The KHL is known for being hesitant to trust young players with ice time, so I wouldn't read too much into those numbers. In fact, he actually outperforms Kucherov in that area, probably because he played more as an older man there. The AHL comparison is a more reasonable one, though as you mention sample size is an issue. I'd love for him to go to Abbotsford and spend the year to see if he can be a strong top 6 talent down there or not.
  12. Money talks. If you really want to show them that you aren't okay with their ownership. Stop buying merch. Stop going to games. Stop watching games. Can be very hard if you're dedicated to the team though. Outside of that, your best bet is some sort of pitchforks social media scandal (such as the rumours of abuse).
  13. I don't for sure, but I know with Eriksson his bonus was paid out on July 1, the date he was signed, so I don't see why it wouldn't be then.
  14. Naslund and Sundin had yet to win a Cup, so they had incentive to try another better team. Modano is a relevant case though. That said, I think Crosby is on a much more legendary level than any of those guys and is thus in a different category. The best names would probably be Gretzky, Jagr, or maybe Roy, but all of those guys were traded relatively early on in their careers. Almost no one at Crosby's level has been traded for the first time late in their careers. Perhaps the closest comparable is Orr to the Blackhawks.
  15. Morrissey actually doesn't play on the PK, he only played in 6.5% of Winnipeg's PK minutes, which is very low, especially for a defenseman of his calibre. That said, his metrics in the very few minutes he does play are excellent, so I feel like the Jets should give him a shot on the PK. None of the rest of his numbers are terribly bad, but he's below average in the group of 54 defensemen in giveaways (59), SCF% (51.34%), Blocked shots per game (1.5), and +/- (+2). We could compare him to Hughes in the categories I looked at (since they had identical scoring). You can see that Hughes beats or ties Morrissey in every categories except for blocked shots. Morrissey is an outstanding defenseman, but I think his defensive game, while strong, isn't strong enough to be a serious Norris contender. Again, he's elite and definitely a strong #1 defenseman, but the Norris goes above just being a good #1 and into the best of the best. All that said, I expect that Morrissey will be in the top 10 and that I'm an outlier, just as I am with Karlsson putting him outside my top 10.
  16. Hey all! I decided to share my most recent article on who I have as my best Norris candidates this year, especially because a familiar face shows up on the list If you wanna do me a solid and increase my page visits feel free to read it here (it also looks prettier): https://hookedonhockeyhistory.wordpress.com/2023/04/23/2022-23-final-norris-rankings/ For the rest of you, I've pasted the article below: 2022-23 Final Norris Rankings APRIL 23, 2023 / ANDREW SCHROEDER With the 2022-23 NHL season finally to a close, it’s time to assess who final players are that make my top 10 list for Norris candidates. We’ve had some interesting storylines this year from players starting injured and still working their way on to my final top 10, to elite offensive performances, to underrated all-around defensemen–all of these appear on my final list. A few house-keeping things first: these are not my predictions as to who wins the Norris, but rather, my own personal list for the best Norris candidates. I find that Norris voters often have different criteria than I do, so a prediction would result in a different ranking. Players needed a minimum of 20 minutes on ice per game as well as 61 games to be considered. Additionally, it’s also worth noting that I somewhat penalized players who very rarely played on the penalty kill, as it was seen as an indictment of their defensive play–a core aspect of a defenseman’s role. In total, I looked at 54 different eligible defensemen. Finally, I’ll compare players to how they ranked in my rankings the halfway mark of the season to see their progression since that time. Honourable Mention: Erik Karlsson (0) I know I’ll get some flak for this, but I truly believe that Karlsson was the textbook example of a Paul Coffey-like rover this year. The best offensive defenseman, but at the cost of his defensive play. 101 points is worth a lot, but you should need more than outstanding offense to win a Norris or even be a serious contender. Honourable Mention: Victor Hedman (-5) Hedman wasn’t even on my list at all at the 1/4 mark, but found himself on the list at the halfway mark. He has since fallen a bit back off, partly due to worse penalty kill results. Although he’s still an elite defenseman, this year was an off one by his standards. 10. Roman Josi (-4) Josi ranked 6th all throughout the year on my Norris rankings, but found himself in 10th at the final rankings partly due to mild decreases in some of his stats, but moreso due to other players passing him. Josi plays a very heavy workload while producing a ton of points and also doesn’t shy away from blocking shots, which he is excellent at, ranking 8th on my list. 9. Charlie McAvoy (NR) (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer) McAvoy was technically on my 3/4 season list, but I never wrote about it, so he hasn’t show up yet in an article of mine. After an early-season injury McAvoy joined the surging Bruins and didn’t mess with the chemistry at all. His 52 points in 67 games pro-rates to 64 points in a full season. McAvoy continues to boast an excellent two-way game with excellent penalty kill numbers, shot blocking totals, and puck possession metrics. A betting man would very likely say that he’s a Norris finalist at least once in his career. 8. Devon Toews (+4) Like his team, Toews has risen up the standings here in my Norris rankings at the end of the year, finally making the actual top 10 for the first time at the very end. Toews finished 8th in Norris voting last year and although he undoubtedly benefits from playing with the phenom Cale Makar, Toews is an incredible defenseman in his own right and deserves to be in the conversation. Toews is a reliable source of offense, but also excels in the defensive side of the game, which helped lead to his incredible +39 rating. He has great possession numbers and plays in over 60% of Colorado’s penalty kill time. 7. Quinn Hughes (NR) Perhaps no defenseman has risen up the Norris rankings more than Hughes has in the second half of the season. From not even being seriously considered at the halfway mark to all the way up to 7th place by the end is a remarkable surge. Hughes is certainly one of the best offensive defensemen in the NHL and possibly the best passer (although some could argue Karlsson over him). Although his defensive game isn’t elite, he has taken big strides this year in improving his all-around game and should now be much more seriously in the Norris conversation, as he became a reliable defenseman for the Canucks on the rapidly improving penalty kill at the end of the season. Hughes hasn’t yet finished top 10 in Norris voting, but look for it to happen this year. 6. Rasmus Dahlin (-4) (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) Although Dahlin’s final ranking on my list is still very admirable, because of his recent trend, it ends up feeling a bit disappointing. Dahlin ranked either 2nd or 3rd in all three of my first three quarterly rankings so to fall to 6th at the end is a disappointment. His offense fell off considerably, as he was well above a point-per-game at one point in the season. Still, he finished with a very impressive 73 points in 78 games and also has fairly strong defensive numbers as well like 45 takeaways and a +12 rating. 5. Mikhael Sergachev (-1) Sergachev is another in a list of many underrated defensemen. Although many know Hedman as the legendary defenseman in Tampa, it was Sergachev this year that stepped up the most. With a breakout season of 64 points in 79 games along with outstanding defensive metrics in every category, Sergachev is of the rare breed of defenseman with virtually no weakness. With an impressive 55 takeaways playing about 24 minutes a game, Sergachev actually spends more time on ice than Hedman does and also plays a bigger role in the penalty kill, being on ice for 44% of the time. 4. Miro Heiskanen (+5) Probably the biggest contender to Hughes’ title as the biggest riser in the 2nd half of the season, Heiskanen’s stock rose meteorically after a slow start. Finishing with by far a career high of 73 points in 79 games, Heiskanen, like Hughes has now entered into the serious Norris conversation, though at an even higher level, due to his more well-rounded game. Heiskanen plays very heavy minutes while showing incredible puck possession numbers at 56.92% scoring chances for. In addition, he has a very impressive 53 takeaways and a +12 rating while also showing extremely strong penalty killing results on the 2nd unit of the Stars. 3. Alex Pietrangelo (-2) Arguably the most underrated defenseman in the league, Pietrangelo continues to do it all for Vegas and was a huge reason their team was successful this year. Pietrangelo perfectly fits the archetype of a Norris winner–he can score, he can defend, and he can hit, doing all with aplomb. Like all of the top five players on my list, Pietrangelo has virtually no weakness. He’s put up 54 points in 73 games, tying his career best despite missing nine games and also is one of the best defensive defensemen in the league while doing it. His shot blocks are amazingly reliable with 2.4 blocks per game and his 56 takeaways show that he can regain possession after it’s lost. He’s relied on extremely heavily by the Golden Knights on the penalty kill as well as regular even strength and the powerplay. 2. Adam Fox (+3) Somewhat the beneficiary of a few of the top defenders falling off a little, Fox has suddenly found himself with a very real chance to win his second Norris trophy at the young age of 25. Ever since his Norris-winning 2020-21 season, I’ve been a defender of Fox as the perfect defenseman. Although Fox’s defense is ever so slightly inferior to Pietrangelo’s, his offensive game is a significant step above, shown by his second straight season above 70 points this year. Fox led all defensemen in takeaways with 88 and had an impressive +28 rating. 1. Cale Makar (0) In 1992-93, Mario Lemiux was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma after just 40 games. Amazingly, he came back to play the final 20 games of the season and finished with such astonishing results (69 goals and 160 points in 60 games) that he still won the Hart trophy and Lester B. Pearson trophy. Those of you who are astute will notice that Makar shouldn’t actually be on my list, as he only played 60 games and didn’t meet the 61 game minimum I had set. However, when I chose to enter in Makar’s data into my database, he finished in 1st by such a large margin I knew I would have to make an exception to allow him in. I’m not saying Makar’s 2022-23 season is on the level of Lemieux’s 1992-93 season, but it is clear that his overall game is dominant enough that despite the missing games, he is the deserving Norris winner for the 2022-23 season. He was one of only two defensemen over a point-per game at 66 points in 60 games and unlike Karlsson, has an outstanding defensive game to pair with his scoring. Makar ranked in the top half in eight of the nine statistics I looked at, showing how insanely well-rounded his overall game is. Just last year I was one of Makar’s critics, claiming he wasn’t good enough defensively to win a Norris yet, but this year, I am 100% on board for the young kid to earn his second straight Norris. Other notables: V. Dunn, R. Andersson, J. Morrissey, H. Lindholm No longer on the list: J. Carlson, H. Lindholm
  17. I used to, but I started realizing in 2006 when I was rooting for the Hurricanes that I was a diehard petty Canuck fan that wanted vengeance above all else.
  18. Yeah, I doubt 5,000 (or whatever the size is) can really out-shout 17,000 people, even if they are a pretty loud 5,000.
  19. I don't think this is the case, but I think he undervalued the impact of the rest of the team on his level of play and is now finding that he can't do the same things without Petey, Miller, and Hughes. He's likely back to his regular 55-65 point self now, which is a fantastic player, but not remotely close to $8.5M per year, even if you account for solid defense and leadership qualities.
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