TrueBlue4ever

Let’s hope this one doesn’t pick fights with the police.

Cause of death? Article seemed to go out of it’s way not to say.

Defensive back Bud Grant. Heard he went on to coach somewhere or other.

So, cheer Laine? Boo Laine? Does the team do a tribute video? And if they cheer, is it to spite Chevy?

I’ve heard the same shtick from you for forever now. It is laughable that you think dumping Maurice (and now Lowry), Scheifele and Wheeler and keeping everything else the same makes this team better, like they are the poison that is blocking the true path to the Stanley Cup. Heinola is not ready, Perfetti is not ready to be a first line NHLer, Samberg is not ready to be an elite #1 defence man. Why you think loading up on inexperience makes us a Stanley Cup contender instantly is baffling. Just because you don’t like Wheeler and Scheifele’s personalities doesn’t mean getting rid of them to satisfy your culture shift wet dream suddenly makes Heinola a Norris trophy winner. Scheifele is poor defensively based on the metrics used by the accountants writing for the Athletic, but he is paid to score first, and he has outperformed his contract every year here. I worry the suspension got in his head as it can with some players (the Todd Burtuzzi effect) so I am actually fine with trading him, but not just to be rid of him without fair value coming back. And Wheeler is going nowhere at 36 with an $8.5 million cap hit (which fortunately as still a point a game player he is still arguably earning and not a massive overpay). Like it, lump it, make your peace with it, because he is here until that contract expires. A buy out cripples this team for the next 3 seasons. And I could care less if he is snippy with the Jeff Hamilton’s of the media world who seem to have a pretty clear agenda to pick a fight with him at every turn and blame the leadership for a basic lack of equitable NHL talent in the bottom 6 and bottom 2-3 on defence. Honestly, none of this will change your mind, but it is getting exhausting hearing the same tired whine every game for the last 4 years now (and frankly before the 2017-18 year too. You’ve become the TBurg of the hockey forum, and when they win you clam up, waiting for the next loss so you can write the same 12 variations of “Wheeler is grumpy and needs to go, Scheifele is lazy and needs to go, Maurice is stupid and needs to go”. We all get your point by now, try some new material.

The fans who put it all on the coaching have overestimated the true talent on this roster. We have maybe two full NHL lines at forward and no elite 1-2 defence.

Remember too that the ratio in the 1980’s was higher, 11 starting Canadians required. The standard set up was an all-Canadian o-line, 2 slotbacks, fullback on offence, kicker, punter, and then safety and two interior d-linemen as Canadians. And the o-line and d-lines were so much smaller than they are today, the skill and size required were just a different level than now.

For KFC

And Dallas steals one in Carolina, outshot 47-15 but win in OT.

Found the Friedman quote from Tim and Friends. Your interpretation of his quote is grossly presumptive. He prefaced the comment by saying that Cheveldayoff entered the trade deadline with the mindset that he would try to stay the course for the playoffs even if he subtracted players, the idea being that Winnipeg (and Vancouver) could not abandon the idea of the playoffs given the financial losses they had suffered because of pandemic attendance woes, so they couldn’t be true sellers. He then said, and I quote: “I think this summer Winnipeg is going to have some very very big decisions to make. Dubois, Scheifele, Hellebuyck, I think there are going to be some interesting discussions potentially about the future of that team.” No mention of moving any of them. The logical inference is the team, already up against the cap, has to re-sign Dubois this summer as an RFA and the other two big upcoming contracts are Hellebuyck and Scheifele in 2024. It’s quite a leap from that to your conclusion that Hellebuyck has pissed people off, the team doesn’t try as hard for him, he “may not be the guy”, that Comrie could be and has been better, so a trade this summer is likely in the offing. And this for a guy you said 3 weeks ago was on your list of untouchables to be moved.

Oilers did the Jets no favours, giving up a 3-2 lead with 5 minutes left and losing 5-3 to the Stars. 3 points out, but here is the harsh reality - to get above the current winning percentage of the Stars and into 8th place, the Jets would need to win their next 7 in a row.

Looks like it’s headed for a re-count either way.

Quick, criticize another Jet, it’s working well for us.

I’d ask you to expand but you don’t know what so say. Seriously, are you peeved about his vaccine comments? Because he took the shot, was ready for camp, and has said nary a word about it going forward. I can disagree with his opinion, but I don’t see why that would make people pissed at him 7 months later, unless they are being over reactionary.

Good thing our second best goaltender kept it 0-0, eh?

Thought I read somewhere that they wanted to do the “heritage” thing again this season.

“Reliable outside target” = “one catch per game”. His agent must have written this bio.

Lots of factors tied to Buff leaving. We had already lost Trouba because he never wanted to stay, so we did the best we could with the trade. But that then made Morrissey more valuable to keep as a future cornerstone defenceman and we overpaid. Should be worth $4.5 and not $6.5 million but that’s the market and the cost of keeping someone in Winnipeg. Do not underestimate how hard it is to compete in this market. The “draft and develop” model is in place for a reason, because unlike Tampa or Vegas we don’t have nice weather, no taxes, or big city outside attractions to entice free agents, and Andrew Copp is the latest example of a draft and develop player who we would have to had comparatively overpaid or let go once free agency hit. We are the Oakland A’s of hockey in the Yankees world. We can’t compete with the big dogs and build teams the same way, we are card counters, and hopefully our players bloom young enough that we have a strong team before they key pieces ripen fully and command top dollar. That’s what we had in 2018 with Laine, Connor, Hellebuyck, Trouba, Morrissey, Tanev, Wheeler, etc on the cheap and gambles like Scheifele and Ehlers contracts paid off. Like Colorado now. Next problem, Myers was going no matter what and Enstrom retiring, but we thought we had Buff locked in so we didn’t overpay for Chiarot to stay. Then Buff quits but his big salary is still on the books, so we have destroyed our defensive depth but can’t afford to replace it because now contracts to keep Wheeler and Hellebuyck, who were our best two players at the time, plus anticipating Laine and Connor raises. Then pandemic and flat cap and Little LTIR, which clears salary off the books but doesn’t allow for cap space to grow but of the weird cap rules. And with the overachieving 2018 year changing expectations, we roll the dice on deadline day and trade away high draft picks for Stastny and then Hayes, eroding our depth. So we sit on what we have at D for two extra years before trying a quasi re-build with Dillon and Schmidt this past year, again with cap implications that hastened Copp’s departure. Now, could systems be better? The accountants who like fancy stats say sure, and maybe a different approach is needed, but this is much more layered than just “Buff left” or “coaching culture change” as the sole reason. Such is life in cap era hockey.

Do you feel the same way about Hellebuyck?

Oops. Stupid auto carrot! 😁

The Ves demotion is cap related. Remove his $1.5 million, can bring up 2 minimum salaries from the A and then both Copp and Stastny can be moved but the roster stays at 12 forwards. As for the goalie, it is insurance since Berdin is nicked up. Dillon might be moved because teams always overpay for D at the trade deadline (see exhibit #8152 Ben Chiarot) and his contract can be absorbed by most team even if tight to the cap. They’ll move him if the offer is too good to pass up, plus they have depth in the minors. All per Murat Area’ article.