2021 NHL regular season thread

In regard to the Turner-NHL deal: hell, I'm old enough to remember watching Flames games on WTCG-TV Channel 17.

The Bill Tush-Tina Seldon late-night newscasts were a blast.

 

Brindamour rejoining Francis in Seattle wouldn't be a shocker.

 

Would not be at all surprised. Through some of Rod Brind'Amour's comments, it's obvious that he and Ron Francis both like and respect each other.

And you know Francis knows that Tom Dundon could try to jerk Brind'Amour around. Could be the expansion steal of the offseason, right?

 

Probably not enough. I was skeptical as all get out because of how badly the Thrashers were grossly misrun.
Facts seems to playing out, in hindsight, that no sane person could make that sh_tshow work because of incompetent, ignorant ownership with too many different owners chiming in with differing strategies and no abilities to discuss and compromise. No blend of skills as a talent evaluator, PR wizard or peacekeeper was going to overcome that.

So far, Tom Dundon has largely stayed out of that, thank goodness. I think that, regardless of what my criticism of Dundon otherwise, he'll leave this alone, especially since the on-ice product has progressed nicely ... this organization had never been to three consecutive postseason since moving to Raleigh.

Has Waddell done anything extraordinary? No. But he hasn't done anything poorly, either. Questioned his attempted strong-arming of Noah Hanifin and Elias Lindholm, but somehow dealt them to Calgary and look at how Dougie Hamilton's game has blossomed. (Imagine if Adam Fox could have been convinced to stay ... ask Ragu if you think I'm nuts.) Did the same to Justin Faulk ... while shipping him to St. Louis might not have been a mistake, offering Jake Gardiner what they were willing to supposedly pay Faulk was.

But, all in all, Waddell has been fine.

 

I'm enjoying it more than you'll ever know. They haven't looked this good since the 2005-06 season.

It is an attitude of gratitude. But does that mean that ownership is pulling all the correct levers everywhere?

No. And because some of us can see this, I'm just supposed to "go with it"? I think you know that answer.

I'm fully aware that the treatment of Chuck Kaiton and John Forslund doesn't affect wins and losses, and it doesn't affect the on-ice product. But does winning mean all the BS goes away? If it does, that's some impressive cranial-rectal fusion being practiced ...

 

Rod is in the last year of his deal. I'm not sure how much Dundon could do to stop him from packing up.

 

That's my guess as well, Ragu. Yet, on a message board for sports journalists, I'm catching crap for it. It's kinda funny if you think about it.

Tom Dundon got into the NHL because, let's face it, it's not quite as pricey as the other three major American sports. David Tepper paid $2.25 billion for the Carolina Panthers, and while Dundon has more money than most of us will ever dream of, he's not even close to Tepper's tax bracket.

I suspect your assessment on Dundon is somewhere near the target. There was some scuttlebutt that at the owners' meetings, he went in wearing a Hurricanes 1/4-zip and other thoroughly informal wear in a space where suits are the norm. That's not so much a positive or a negative as a sign that he feels the rules don't apply to him. It could easily be construed as another way to show the world that he's determined, perhaps hellbent, to take a sledgehammer to the norms.

Ragu, one of the other little tells is since he bought the organization from Peter Karmanos, he's trying to show that he is the anti-Karmanos, that whereas Karmanos made himself available at the ESA no more than once or twice a year, Dundon tries to tell everyone that he is media friendly and always willing to talk. Has a distinct Jerry Jones flavor to it ...

Perhaps Dundon should get some credit for looking at other ways to skin the cat, but how many of those are to prove to the old-school crusty hockey sorts that they're too stuck in their ways (hello, JC ... and this isn't a bad thing) and how many are Dundon's attempt to prove that he's always the biggest swinging Richard in the room (which, if so, is not a good thing)?

 

Actually, it's simple. Dundon can stop dragging his feet, extend him for going market rate for a stellar coach who has done a superb job with the team and be done with it. And do it now to quickly end any possible storyline.

Instead, he's trying to drag Jeremy Jacobs and other owners who are trying to convince us that they have to clip coupons in order to survive into this crap about capping salaries of coaches and front-office employees.

 

My bad. When you said "jerk him around" I thought that excluded a reasonable contract offer.

 

They are a very analytical driven organization. I love what they have done with their hockey decisions. They weaponized cap space to get players and picks and have found great value in trades and free agency. They are the exact opposite of the Canucks.

 

Jiggs and Boom!

Remember the commercials Boom did for Colonial Lincoln-Mercury?

“Hey, rookie! ... Whaddaya mean what’s Buckhead? Tomorrow I teach you ROAD SIGNS!”