[Official] NHL Return To Play Thread (24 team play off, 15 team draft lottery)

[mll]

Edmonton tweaked their bid over the weekend.  

 

[Mackcanuck]

43 minutes ago, mll said:

Edmonton tweaked their bid over the weekend.  

 

It doesn't matter how much you try to make it look good, like putting lip stick on a pig

IT IS STILL EDMONTON

 

WOOOO HOOOO!!!!! they've got a mall!!

Edited June 22, 2020 by Mackcanuck

[Slegr]

I would love if they did some regional broadcasting of the training camps. I’m so starved for Canucks hockey that I’d love to see the camp televised. I watched them in Victoria earlier this year and it was pretty entertaining.

[SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME]

They should just do Edmonton and Vancouver. 
 

East goes to Edmonton. Set the whole bubble inside that hub on Eastern Time. It’s summer in the North, and the 5am (MT) sunrise in Edmonton is happening at the same time as a 7am sunrise in Miami. Just keep the whole works running on Eastern Time, so the players aren’t having to really adjust, and it will be natural to play and broadcast all those games at times suitable for the Eastern market.

 

Of course, having midnight (ET) sunsets in Edmonton will be a little weird, but that’s what blackout curtains are for.

 

The West is in Vancouver, of course, and that hub runs on local, Pacific Time.

[coastal.view]

21 minutes ago, SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME said:

They should just do Edmonton and Vancouver. 
 

East goes to Edmonton. Set the whole bubble inside that hub on Eastern Time. It’s summer in the North, and the 5am (MT) sunrise in Edmonton is happening at the same time as a 7am sunrise in Miami. Just keep the whole works running on Eastern Time, so the players aren’t having to really adjust, and it will be natural to play and broadcast all those games at times suitable for the Eastern market.

 

Of course, having midnight (ET) sunsets in Edmonton will be a little weird, but that’s what blackout curtains are for.

 

The West is in Vancouver, of course, and that hub runs on local, Pacific Time.

and then they can bus them here as the away teams for the finals (as vancouver is sure to be the hub city for the finals)

(of course, they will have to bus back after each and every game to stay in their team dedicated hotels in edmonton)

i think that can provide sufficient advantage to the nucks if they get to the finals

[DeNiro]

They did a preview article on TSN that was actually quite complementary of the Canucks, especially Pettersson. Saying he should get serious Hart trophy consideration.

 

One part I didn’t agree with was that it said we would face depth issues in later rounds against better teams. Maybe I’m just a homer but I think depth is actually our strength right now. Maybe if you wanna que in on our D specifically you could make an argument but overall I would say we’re pretty deep.

 

The biggest weakness we have right now IMO is simply inexperience. But even that is bolstered by Cup winners like Pearson, Toffoli, and Beagle. Add to that guys like Edler, Tanev, Miller, Ferland, and Myers who have all played more than a couple playoff series.

 

Maybe you could say physicality is another weak point, but even that area I feel pretty good about, especially if Ferland is ready to roll. A bottom 6 containing Ferland, Roussel, Virtanen, Motte, Beagle, and MacEwan will have no problem taking the body.

[King Heffy]

47 minutes ago, SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME said:

They should just do Edmonton and Vancouver. 
 

East goes to Edmonton. Set the whole bubble inside that hub on Eastern Time. It’s summer in the North, and the 5am (MT) sunrise in Edmonton is happening at the same time as a 7am sunrise in Miami. Just keep the whole works running on Eastern Time, so the players aren’t having to really adjust, and it will be natural to play and broadcast all those games at times suitable for the Eastern market.

 

Of course, having midnight (ET) sunsets in Edmonton will be a little weird, but that’s what blackout curtains are for.

 

The West is in Vancouver, of course, and that hub runs on local, Pacific Time.

Good luck getting the NHLPA to agree to having the players' families stuck in the hellhole that is Edmonton for that period of time.

[SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME]

9 minutes ago, King Heffy said:

Good luck getting the NHLPA to agree to having the players' families stuck in the hellhole that is Edmonton for that period of time.

Certainly not as fun as being in Vegas or Chicago, but that fun comes with being in cities that are reporting hundreds of new COVID-19 cases daily.
 

And the families don’t even get to be “inside the bubble” with the players, so I’m not sure I’d want to bring my family any of the other proposed hub cities.

 

Maybe Toronto. Although I’m not exactly encouraged by their numbers either.

 

I agree that Edmonton sucks, but maybe the plan to have the families in the Rockies is workable? Jasper, Banff, Lake Louise, etc are all stunning during the summer, and I’d be happy with having my wife and kids getting to share in those experiences, while being only 3-5 hours away (by road).

Definitely Vancouver looks like the premiere hub destination. Well, assuming the league has any sense (which is a very big assumption).

 

 

[SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME]

47 minutes ago, DeNiro said:

They did a preview article on TSN that was actually quite complementary of the Canucks, especially Pettersson. Saying he should get serious Hart trophy consideration.

 

One part I didn’t agree with was that it said we would face depth issues in later rounds against better teams. Maybe I’m just a homer but I think depth is actually our strength right now. Maybe if you wanna que in on our D specifically you could make an argument but overall I would say we’re pretty deep.

 

The biggest weakness we have right now IMO is simply inexperience. But even that is bolstered by Cup winners like Pearson, Toffoli, and Beagle. Add to that guys like Edler, Tanev, Miller, Ferland, and Myers who have all played more than a couple playoff series.

 

Maybe you could say physicality is another weak point, but even that area I feel pretty good about, especially if Ferland is ready to roll. A bottom 6 containing Ferland, Roussel, Virtanen, Motte, Beagle, and MacEwan will have no problem taking the body.

I think depth on defence is certainly a weakness. Even the healthy defence is a weakness on this team. Not a fatal one, but probably the main one that will limit how far we can go.

 

I’m not worried about the inexperience factor. “Playoff DNA” is a little overrated anyway. Same with Cup winners, although I’m glad we have a few guys who’ve “been there” on the roster. Generally though, I think pretty much every one of our players has played on big stages and had to elevate their game at crucial moments. Many of us watched Petey’s run in the SHL championship and got a taste of what he’s capable of in playoff hockey (and the others teams went hard at him physically, arguable just as hard as NHL playoffs, and Petey just shrugged it off, or he got the “death stare” and almost singlehandedly destroyed the teams that went after him). Not worried about Pettersson. More excited to see what level he can bring his game to. Similar for our guys who’ve been through World tourneys or NCAA Frozen Four, etc. They’ve been through “the wars” and proven themselves. I think they’ll be able to do the same for the Stanley Cup Playoffs (assuming we get past the play-in, or even have the play-in).

[grandmaster]

4 hours ago, DeNiro said:

They did a preview article on TSN that was actually quite complementary of the Canucks, especially Pettersson. Saying he should get serious Hart trophy consideration.

I’m sorry but, I love Pettersson and all, but this years Hart?

 

Those folks at TSN obviously have not been seeing this years Canuck games and are being lazy by just going off his rookie season .
 

The MVP for this year is a split between Marky and Miller. Pettersson was good this year but the team benefited way more by the other two.
 

No question.

[Angry Goose]

7 minutes ago, grandmaster said:

I’m sorry but, I love Pettersson and all, but this years Hart?

 

Those folks at TSN obviously have not been seeing this years Canuck games and are being lazy by just going off his rookie season .
 

The MVP for this year is a split between Marky and Miller. Pettersson was good this year but the team benefited way more by the other two.
 

No question.

Word for word I had your exact same post typed out but figured whatever. 

 

Hughes/EP were the next impressive players,just behind JT/Markstrom 

[skategal]

Heard on the radio last night that the discussion for agreement is to extend the player contracts to expire on Oct 31st rather than June 30.

 

https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/nhl-nhlpa-tentatively-agree-extend-expiring-contracts-oct-31/

 

Seems like a long extension, not sure why and the article doesn't indicate a reason.  Perhaps because it's a bit unknown right now when the season will restart and end?  

[mll]

1 minute ago, skategal said:

Heard on the radio last night that the discussion for agreement is to extend the player contracts to expire on Oct 31st rather than June 30.

 

https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/nhl-nhlpa-tentatively-agree-extend-expiring-contracts-oct-31/

 

Seems like a long extension, not sure why and the article doesn't indicate a reason.  Perhaps because it's a bit unknown right now when the season will restart and end?  

 

Training camp hasn't even started.  They also have to account for the play-ins.   Start of the playoffs in mid-August after the play-ins.  About 2 months brings them to mid-October.  Then 2 weeks for the draft, free agency interview period etc.  Start of free agency on 1 November.  

 

[Mackcanuck]

 

[The Lock]

16 hours ago, King Heffy said:

Good luck getting the NHLPA to agree to having the players' families stuck in the hellhole that is Edmonton for that period of time.

Are we really focusing on the concept of "hellholes" during this pandemic? The entire states is a hellhole right now and Ontario and Quebec aren't exactly ideal with the pandemic either at the moment.

 

Perhaps the only other thought would be Winnipeg in my opinion. Anywhere else is baffling to me right now. Chicago's a corona hot spot. LA's also up there. Vegas is unlikely to be Vegas with whatever measures are put in place. They're all going to be hellholes in some form or another. lol

Edited June 23, 2020 by The Lock

[GoodCanadianKideh]

On 6/22/2020 at 11:56 AM, Mackcanuck said:

 

 

Is Big Mac considered a roster player at this point?  I don’t see him listed as a Black Ace

[mll]

7 minutes ago, GoodCanadianKideh said:

Is Big Mac considered a roster player at this point?  I don’t see him listed as a Black Ace

For this extended season yes.   There's a roster freeze.  Teams can add players to their already existing roster and he's already on it.

[D-Money]

2 hours ago, GoodCanadianKideh said:

Is Big Mac considered a roster player at this point?  I don’t see him listed as a Black Ace

There’s no AHL games, so there’s no reason not to name someone who is even close to NHL calibre.

[Dumb Nuck]

Well, 30 Years from now I’ll be a grumpy old man screaming at stupid kids: “back in my day we watched hockey in August”

[drdeath]

18 minutes ago, Dumb Nuck said:

Well, 30 Years from now I’ll be a grumpy old man screaming at stupid kids: “back in my day we watched hockey in August”

As someone who's birthday is the 28th of August all I want for my birthday is for the Canucks to play and win a game on it. Would definitely be a once in a lifetime opportunity.