NHL 2014-2015 regular season running thread

For those who didn't stay up late last night, the Rangers dismantled the Ducks in Anaheim. All the pregame hype was how the Rangers had jelled and how fast they are. And that's what it looked like. They cleared their zone with quick, precision passes that negated the Ducks' forecheck. Lundquist was strong. Their quickness pressured the Ducks' defense into two giveaways that were put into the net. The Ducks went with Bryzgalov, but it was not a matter of him being subpar. All the goals were good goals. It was 4-1. The first goal came when Brassard jumped on during a delayed penalty and had an open shot from the top of the circle. The second was when Vatanen's panicky clearing pass went mid-slot and was intercepted. The third was when Beauchemin was pressured into a giveaway in his own zone by Nash, I think. The fourth was an empty-netter.

 

The same reason people take jobs like the Cubs. If you can actually pull it off you'd be a legend forever.

I'm not saying for one second he will, but I can see why he would take on that challenge.

 

I know absolutely what you are saying, and I don't necessarily disagree with you, my issue is the level of dysfunction and the working environment currently in Toronto. If he is looking for a challenge and the opportunity to make a name for himself in that legendary status, there are other options out there. Maybe not turning the Leafs-into-a-championship-team legend, but other ways he can cement his legacy and make oodles of money.

The Cubs in their dysfunctional best were not attracting top managers — prior to Maddon their three previous managers were all first time managers (Renteria, Sveum, Quade). When they have had big names in place and went on runs, it was because they had rare moments of stability in the front office and a quality team on the field. The reason they got Maddon this time is because Epstien and co finally finished their rebuild and are ready to contend with the best group of prospects in baseball — I think their real ETA will be 2016 or 2017. That stability, though, is back. The Maple Leafs are a long ways away from that with their obvious locker room issues to gaping holes in the lineup to a gong show of an ownership group and front office.

I really see Babcock staying in Detroit, but if he wanted to cement his legacy as a championship building coach and has a desire to save a long-suffering fan base, places like St. Louis, Buffalo and San Jose immediately come to mind as better options than the Big Smoke without the headaches that being a Maple Leaf brings. I so badly want to throw Edmonton on that list (he and his wife have deep roots in Central Alberta, plus a history with Bob Nicholson who I think takes over as grand pooba, or whatever title they want to give him, in the spring), but if there is a franchise that is more dysfunctional and screwed up than the Leafs right now, it might be the Oilers. Besides he can build a different kind of legacy in Detorit, ensuring his name can be mentioned without question in the same breath as guys like Scotty Bowman, Jack Adams and Tommy Ivan, form their own coaching Mount Rushmore.

 

Couple of weeks ago, it was reported that the Oilers were not going to renew their agreement with Oklahoma City in the AHL. The report included the possibility of the AHL creating a division in the West. Edmonton already owns Bakersfield in the ECHL and might convert that into an AHL team. Yesterday, the Virginian-Pilot reported that the Ducks are trying to buy the Norfolk Admirals with the hopes of moving the team to San Diego if there is a new AHL West (or whatever it could be called).

 

I'd be shocked to see Babcock leave the Wings. They might be down a bit now (not as far as the Leafs), but they'll be contenders again soon.

 

Then why hasn't he signed yet?

 

Who knows, there could be a thousand reasons, he genuinely could be interested in kicking some tires, he could want to see what happens with the Wings this year to truly maximize his value to the Red Wings, he may want that challenge of coaching a new team, he may want to start that bidding war. I still put it at about a 70 per cent likelihood he's back in Detroit next season.

 

That is correct on the Oilers side. The OKC Barons, despite being one of the better teams in the AHL since they cam into existence, consistently had one of the lowest attendances in the league. This year I heard they were hovering int he ballpark of about 3,500 per game. The group that ran the franchise in OKC was tired of losing money hand over fist and were not able to come to a new agreement with the Oilers. Bakersfield, as you mentioned, is the most likely of the new destinations if a western division is formed. If that west division is formed, I could see Abbotsford come back into the picture as an AHL city again -- I think it would take the Canucks moving their farm team there for it to be successful though. One of their big issues before was travel, the closest AHL team to Abbotsford was OKC, setting them up for brutal travel costs and just brutal travel period. The West division would be huge for a lot of teams on the West coast whose farm teams are all out East.

Here is a map I'm thinking from a year ago if the AHL franchises, note Abbotsford is still listed.

http://www.sportmapworld.com/map/ice-hockey/north-america/ahl/

 

I mean if ownership went into a mass sell-off where the team was looking at a multi-year rebuilding process, then I could see him leaving. But, if the talent base remains steady, I'd be very surprised.

Now, he might use some other team as leverage to get a financially better deal. Wouldn't be the first to do that. But I suspect he'll be back behind the Detroit bench when the puck drops next fall.

 

Teemu Selanne's retired No. 8 was hoisted to the Honda Center rafters tonight. It was a terrific ceremony. Pushed the starting time of the game back about 45 minutes and nobody cared. Todd Harmonson's story in the OC Register is a terrific recap.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/ducks-647808-selanne-ceremony.html

 

Watched Carolina-Toronto the other night. I don't see as many Leafs games as I do other NHL teams but am I wrong in getting the impression the players just don't seem to care? Does Shanahan need to blow it up?

Glad Halak was named as an all-star replacement. I thought he should have been selected in the initial go-around.

 

Despite the results I think the leafs are playing better under Horaschek. .