Rick Blight

Some of you may be interested in these era adjusted numbers to support your arguments one way or the other. https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/era-adjusted-wayne-gretzky-still-great-one/

Most posters, including me, believe the Canucks need to get better on the backend if we want to be serious contenders. The focus from most has been to get that PMD that can help generate some offense, particularly as a QB for the power play. I strongly believe that a lot of posters are going to be very pleasantly surprised when they get to see JR play at Harvard. His skating is pretty amazing and his ability to read the play and understand the flow of the game is really well above average. His play this year will allow Benning and company a little more flexibility in terms of their direction at this year's draft. He is obviously a number of years away but I think he may be well worth the wait.

There was the newspaper and phone calls to the farm between periods of Canucks games to sometimes update progress of maybe one or two prospects. You could also read the Hockey News to get occasional updates. But that was about it......

He can't play in Utica as he was not on their roster at the trade deadline. He could have played there on an ATO if he hadn't signed with the Canucks. http://www.vancourier.com/pass-it-to-bulis/the-paper-feature-what-will-the-utica-comets-look-like-for-the-ahl-playoffs-1.23199057

I know this article makes a good argument for Gaudette requiring protection for the draft (based on Baun) but to me the CBA is very clear in stating that it takes 10 NHL games to constitute a professional season for 18 and 19 year olds and 10 professional games for 20 and up for 1 professional season. This article from Sporsnet seems to support that position but I cannot understand why Baun was available (and I would never question SID) Players with two years of professional experience or less will be exempt from the process. Determining who that covers is based on the definition included in the collective bargaining agreement – meaning that 10 games played in the NHL at age 18 or 19 counts as a season, as does any American Hockey League or NHL season for players older than that. https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/nhl-teams-receiving-information-potential-expansion-draft/ A Player aged 18 or 19 earns a year of professional experience by playing ten (10) or more NHL Games in a given season. A Player aged 20 or older (or who turns 20 between September 16 and December 31 of the calendar year in which he signs his first SPC) earns a year of professional experience by playing ten (10) or more Professional Games under an SPC in a given season

Sid, I still find it difficult to believe that the Canucks would have to protect Gaudette in a 2020 expansion draft. I understand the examples Biech uses and his choice to use the 1 game as an example why Baun was available for the 2017 draft due to the fact he played 3 games with Chicago in the 2014/15 season when he was 20 or over (22). In that same season of 2014/15 Darnell Nurse played in 4 Calder Cup playoff games with the Oklahoma City Barons as a 20 year old and did not require protection for the expansion draft. The CBA section quoted does not specify if a player had to be 20 at the start of the season so I am assuming that Nurse's situation would have been the same as Baun's. Nurse was likely playing on ATO contract at the time but the CBA reference specifically states "plays in one (1) or more professional games.......". As a result, I am trying to understand why the two seem to be treated differently for the expansion draft protection lists. The differences I see are that Baun was undrafted and his first season of professional was at the NHL level (3 games). Nurse was not 20 at the beginning of the season where he played his 1st professional games (4) with Oklahoma and he was a drafted player. There must be something I am missing here. Does my analyis make sense? Do you still believe Gaudette will require protection for the draft? https://theahl.com/stats/player/5557 http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=131921 https://www.nhl.com/news/protected-list-for-vegas-golden-knights-nhl-expansion-draft/c-289972722

Most goalies in the league are quite tall today. I don't think it would make much difference at all for purposes of height. When it comes to weight, Markstrom is not even average weight for an NHL player (all positions) at 196 pounds and below the Canucks average of 199.4 lbs. Nilsson certainly helps at 229 lbs but he is by no means the heaviest goalie in the NHL. I have listed a few that are heavier below. Scott Darling Goalie -- shoots L Born Dec 22 1988 -- Newport News, VA [29 yrs. ago] Height 6.06 -- Weight 232 [198 cm/105 kg] Goalie -- shoots L Frederik Andersen Goalie -- shoots L Born Oct 2 1989 -- Herning, Denmark [28 yrs. ago] Height 6.04 -- Weight 230 [193 cm/104 kg] Robin Lehner Goalie -- shoots L Born Jul 24 1991 -- Gothenburg, Sweden [26 yrs. ago] Height 6.04 -- Weight 245 [193 cm/111 kg]

There seems to be a lot of angst in this thread about retaining rights for Palmu by getting him signed to a contract and having him play in North America. My interpretation of the CBA (I know Sid will correct me) is that we have 3 years to get Palmu offered a contract as he was drafted last year for the 1st time as a 19 year old. With offering a contract within that time we will retain his rights until summer of 2021 I believe. (iii) If a Player who is drafted for the first time as a 19-year-old ceases to play in the Juniors in the first League Year after he has been drafted, his Club shall have exclusive right of negotiation for his services until the third June 1 following his initial selection in the Entry Draft. His selecting Club may retain exclusive rights of negotiation for a fourth year by tendering the Player a Bona Fide Offer in accordance with 8.6(a)(ii), provided that such Bona Fide Offer may be made at any time prior to the third June 1 following his initial selection in the Entry Draft.

We are already bigger than the Boston's and Tampa Bay's of the world. Why all the fuss?

I think that comes from statements like the below. When Lui signed his 6 year contract, is it a 6 year no-move contract that kicks in a no trade clause in year three and a limited no trade clause in year 5....IE: a NMC with clauses or does the 6 year contract get renamed a NTC after three years? Teams were required to protect any contracted players with no move clauses (NMCs) with one of the team's slots for protected players, unless the contract expired on July 1, 2017, in which case the NMC was considered void for the draft.[9][10] Players whose NMCs had limited no trade clauses had to still be protected, and any players with NMCs were able to waive the clause and become eligible for the expansion draft.[9]

I found this old article and it still refers to the 10 games without referring to an age restriction. Very confusing......... Prospects: All players with less than three years of professional experience are automatically exempt. That means young stars like Edmonton's Connor McDavid and Toronto's Auston Matthews don't need to be protected to remain with their teams. This provision also includes unsigned draft picks and signed players that have yet to appear in a NHL game. A year of professional experience is 10 pro games played under an NHL contract, including regular season and playoffs. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/golden-knights-expansion-draft-explainer-1.4160845

The current CBA would disagree with Mr. Biech about Gaudette needing to be protected for the expansion draft. A Player aged 18 or 19 earns a year of professional experience by playing ten (10) or more NHL Games in a given season. A Player aged 20 or older (or who turns 20 between September 16 and December 31 of the calendar year in which he signs his first SPC) earns a year of professional experience by playing ten (10) or more Professional Games under an SPC in a given season.

It is only the fan voting that will be over. The Hobey Hat Trick (three finalists) will be announced on March 29, 2018 and the Hobey Baker Award winner will be announced on Friday, April 6, 2018 from St. Paul, Minn. during the NCAA Frozen Four. The annual fan ballot contribution to help determine the winner of the 2018 Hobey Baker Award is now available online. College hockey fans can cast their vote by going to www.voteforhobey.com. Follow the prompts to make your selection from the group of 74 players representing 46 NCAA Division I schools. This first phase of fan balloting will run now through March 4, 2018. Phase two of fan balloting will begin on March 14 from the list of Top Ten Hobey Baker finalists and will close March 25. The fans’ vote accounts for a full one percent of the total ballot in each phase in selecting this year’s award recipient. Award criteria include candidates exhibiting the exceptional character traits of the award’s namesake, Hobey Baker. A legendary American hero, Baker was a World War I fighter pilot and was known as America’s greatest amateur athlete in his day, excelling at hockey and football at Princeton. Award candidates must demonstrate strength of character both on and off the ice, contribute to the integrity of his team and display outstanding skills in all phases of the game. Consideration should be given to scholastic achievement and sportsmanship. Key Hobey Baker announcement dates for 2018 include: • Top Ten list of candidates: March 14 • Hobey Hat Trick of three finalists: March 29 • Hobey Baker Award announcement: April 6 The 2018 Hobey Baker Award winner will be announced from a field of three Hobey Hat Trick finalists on Friday, April 6, 2018, during the NCAA Frozen Four championship in St. Paul, Minn. The award ceremony will be held at the Roy Wilkens Auditorium in the St. Paul RiverCentre and will be broadcast nationally on the NHL Network. http://www.uscho.com/2018/01/16/hobey-baker-award-fan-balloting-now-open-74-ncaa-division-players/

I could be wrong too. He needs to submit a 15 team no trade list for the 2020/21 which would lead me to believe his contract would fall into the category "Players whose NMCs had limited no trade clauses had to still be protected, and any players with NMCs were able to waive the clause and become eligible for the expansion draft" but who knows. Guess we can worry about that after we actually see if, and when, there will be an expansion draft.

Lui's contract I believe would still be considered a NMC with a limited no trade clause at the time of a 2020 expansion draft. My understanding is that he would still need to be protected. Teams were required to protect any contracted players with no move clauses (NMCs) with one of the team's slots for protected players, unless the contract expired on July 1, 2017, in which case the NMC was considered void for the draft.[9][10] Players whose NMCs had limited no trade clauses had to still be protected, and any players with NMCs were able to waive the clause and become eligible for the expansion draft.[9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_NHL_Expansion_Draft

He could not play for the Canucks and then go to Utica for the playoffs. He could go directly to Utica though on an ATO and play in the playoffs.

Finally, something I agree with. The word Fan means "enthusiast, supproter" is short of Fanatic.

No worries.............we're still good. Usually, a signature is simply someone's name written in a stylized fashion. However, that is not really necessary. ... The signature can be made by anything that marks the paper. Pencil is not favored because it can smudge and be erased, but a signature made with a pencil is equally valid as a signature in pen.

Gaudette would have to sign a Utica contract and would not burn a year off his ELC so I really doubt that would be an option he wants to pursue.

He can't play for Utica this season if he signs a contract with the Canucks. The only Canucks that could go down to Utica for the playoffs had to have been "paper transacted" down at the trade deadline or were on the Utica roster at that time.

Agreed. There have been a lot of posters who have been concerned that this will also mandate that he would have to be protected in the event there is an expansion draft in 2020 but I don't subscribe to that theory. If I am reading the CBA correctly, as outlined below, playing less than 10 games will not count as as a year of professional experience for Gaudette. This would suggest that next year would be his 1st professional season and 2019-20 would just be his 2nd professional season. "A Player aged 18 or 19 earns a year of professional experience by playing ten (10) or more NHL Games in a given season. A Player aged 20 or older (or who turns 20 between September 16 and December 31 of the calendar year in which he signs his first SPC) earns a year of professional experience by playing ten (10) or more Professional Games under an SPC in a given season." The expansion draft rules referred to the CBA for 2nd year pro and under definition as outlined below. "Only players with more than two years of professional experience — NHL or AHL as defined in the collective bargaining agreement — were included in the draft." Curious as to whether or not you would agree with my interpretation of the above. IE: will Gaudette's playing this year impact the Canucks requirement to protect him in a 2020 expansion draft.

NHL players are renowned for playing through pain and broken bones all the time. They just will not let their teammates down and will tell doctors and trainers they are okay to continue playing. I broke my tibia straight through,” Bonino said after the Penguins defeated the Nashville Predators 2-0 on Sunday night to clinch their second consecutive Stanley Cup championship. “We shot it up right when it happened and I was able to finish on it with some adrenaline. (Then) I just couldn’t do it.Read more at: https://nesn.com/2017/06/penguins-nick-bonino-played-through-broken-leg-in-stanley-cup-final/ Bergeron fought Evgeni Malkin in the Eastern Conference Final and his health declined steadily from there. He played with broken ribs, torn cartilage, a separated shoulder, and a slowly collapsing lung. In that same playoffs, Evgeni Malkin broke Gregory Campbell’s leg with a slapshot and Campbell was deemed ‘a true hockey player’ for finishing his shift. And of course there was your old buddy, Bobby Baun, scoring his famous overtime goal after breaking his ankle earlier in the game.

Kevin Bieksa, D, Anaheim Ducks: "You want to hear broken bones and stuff like that, right? I think the thing is, a lot of people have micro fractures in their feet and hands, and a lot of times it doesn't show up right away on X-rays. I know I have. I know [Ryan Kesler] has. We've played through broken bones on our feet before. It doesn't show up right away. After you're in pain for a week or two, you realize this thing isn't getting better, so you get a CAT scan. Sometimes it just doesn't show up. Things like that are hard to play with."

I would say the player that tipped the puck gets credit for a shot on goal as you cannot score a goal without a shot. If the tip goes in you couldn't have two shots on the same play. NHL.com defines a shot as: Shot on GoalIf a player shoots the puck with the intention of scoring and if that shot would have gone in the net had the goaltender not stopped it, the shot is recorded as a "shot on goal". I don't think you could definitely say a shot was going on goal before the tip so I am sticking with giving the "tipper" with the SOG. Wikipedia defines a shot, in part, as : A shot on goal is any touch of the puck towards the net that if not for the goal tender interviening would result in a goal.

There is a good reason that Wayne Gretzky called Nilsson the most talented player he ever played with.....he was that good. His puck handling and vision on the ice were almost unbelievable. The one thing Kent lacked was drive. I think he just enjoyed playing the game and everything else was secondary for him. As a result. fans and coaches always felt that he had more to give if he would just put in the effort and not be a floater as many viewed him. If he played with the same intensity and drive as Gretzky there would have been very little difference in the on ice performance.