2012-2013 NHL Thread

[Corn Flake]

Just when the Phoenix fiasco settled, now the Devils are in the same boat kind of, although not entirely the same, but none the less the league is taking over another team. Bettman wake up and fold a few teams, 30 is too many and the talent is being spread to thin over 30 teams.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=429396

So, a calendar week after this was framed as "the NHL taking over another team" they're apparently just about sold to the owner of the 76ers for 320 million dollars

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nhl/story/_/id/9568909/new-jersey-devils-sale-josh-harris-officially-announced-thursday-source-says

Deal has been approved by the league board.  Done.  Sold.

Move along, nothing to see here.

 

[bustaheims]

Finally...Long Island project nears approval for renovation/redevelopment of Nassau Coliseum & surrounding lands...

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/nhl/story/2013/08/16/sp-nhl-nassau-veterans-memorial-coliseum-closer-to-renovation-new-york-islanders.html

Just in time for the Islanders to move to Brooklyn.

 

[bustaheims]

Deal has been approved by the league board.  Done.  Sold.

Move along, nothing to see here.

Amazing how simple things can be when you don't have all the politicians and lobbyists getting in the way.

 

[Corn Flake]

Finally...Long Island project nears approval for renovation/redevelopment of Nassau Coliseum & surrounding lands...

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/nhl/story/2013/08/16/sp-nhl-nassau-veterans-memorial-coliseum-closer-to-renovation-new-york-islanders.html

Just in time for the Islanders to move to Brooklyn.

Well done, Nassau County, well done.... (/sarcasm)

 

[Britishbulldog]

Out of that list I think Seattle is the front runner but is trying to build its rink with public money which is most likely going to jeopardize an NHL team going there.

I'm not sure what point you're making here. I mean, for starters, I'm fairly sure that the Arena deal there has already been made and that was the centrepiece of the effort made to buy the NBA's Kings this year and move them there but beyond that I'm not sure why you think that public money going towards a rink jeopardizes a NHL team there. If anything the NHL desperately wants subsidized arenas being built for their teams which is why teams like Detroit and Edmonton are getting public money for their new arenas.

Likewise, the arena projects in both Markham and Quebec City are ones that have involved large amounts of public money so I don't know why Seattle is being singled out here.

Hi Nik,
Why I highlighted the public money is that it is becoming a more and more contentious issue with municipalities and I have read that it already is divisive in Seattle making the approval of public funds being used to build a facility for a privately owned sports franchise even more unlikely. That is the gist that I am getting from various sources.

It is odd that nothing I have read in the last couple of weeks declare that the arena deal is in place.  Every article state it as a definite obstacle still.

 

[Kin]

Hi Nik,
Why I highlighted the public money is that it is becoming a more and more contentious issue with municipalities and I have read that it already is divisive in Seattle making the approval of public funds being used to build a facility for a privately owned sports franchise even more unlikely. That is the gist that I am getting from various sources.

It is odd that nothing I have read in the last couple of weeks declare that the arena deal is in place.  Every article state it as a definite obstacle still.

Ah, I read it as though you were saying that the NHL would have a problem with it, not that it would jeopardize the actual arena deal.

Anyways, the arena deal is done:

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8509900/seattle-arena-deal-gets-final-approval

 

[hockeyfan1]

Re: Long Island project: The NYIslanders will play six games a year once the renovated Nassau Coliseum gets completed.  Also, the Brooklyn Nets will play there once a year.

The building process for this project (once approved) should begin in 2015 and last approximately eighteen months.  The group that built Barclay's Center will oversee construction.  The area lands to be developed will include mostly commercial venues (such as theatres, other sports amenities, restaurants, etc.).

Source: THN

 

[hockeyfan1]

There still is a Gretzky in the NHL...

The Bruins organization has promoted Wayne's brother, Keith Gretzky, as director of amateur scouting.  Has been with the organization since 2011.  Prior to having joined the Bruins, he was scouting for the Coyotes' organization.

Source:  THN

 

[ontariojames]

This is random but this has been bugging me since the end of the season, where does the idea that John Tavares had no one to play with this year come from? People talk about how amazing his year was because he had to do it all by himself and he was obviously nominated for the Hart Trophy with that line of thinking but he actually played with pretty good wingers, Moulson had 44 pts in 47 games and Boyes had 35pts in 48 games. Compare that to Kessel who played with Bozak who had 28 pts in 48 games and JVR who had 32pts in 48 games and the Leafs as a team weren't much better than the Islanders finishing only two points ahead and Kessel ended up with five more points than JT. Yet, people don't seem to talk about Kessel in the same way that they do of JT.

 

[Kin]

This is random but this has been bugging me since the end of the season, where does the idea that John Tavares had no one to play with this year come from? People talk about how amazing his year was because he had to do it all by himself and he was obviously nominated for the Hart Trophy with that line of thinking but he actually played with pretty good wingers, Moulson had 44 pts in 47 games and Boyes had 35pts in 48 games. Compare that to Kessel who played with Bozak who had 28 pts in 48 games and JVR who had 32pts in 48 games and the Leafs as a team weren't much better than the Islanders finishing only two points ahead and Kessel ended up with five more points than JT. Yet, people don't seem to talk about Kessel in the same way that they do of JT.

I suppose it comes from subjective analysis from people who watched Islanders games and who determined how much of that line's offense was generated by Tavares. Likewise people probably factor in the defensemen both guys would have played with on the PP as well.

Regardless, I never got the sense that the acclaim for Tavares' season came in the form of "he had no one to play with" and more about his goal totals.

 

[ontariojames]

This is random but this has been bugging me since the end of the season, where does the idea that John Tavares had no one to play with this year come from? People talk about how amazing his year was because he had to do it all by himself and he was obviously nominated for the Hart Trophy with that line of thinking but he actually played with pretty good wingers, Moulson had 44 pts in 47 games and Boyes had 35pts in 48 games. Compare that to Kessel who played with Bozak who had 28 pts in 48 games and JVR who had 32pts in 48 games and the Leafs as a team weren't much better than the Islanders finishing only two points ahead and Kessel ended up with five more points than JT. Yet, people don't seem to talk about Kessel in the same way that they do of JT.

I suppose it comes from subjective analysis from people who watched Islanders games and who determined how much of that line's offense was generated by Tavares. Likewise people probably factor in the defensemen both guys would have played with on the PP as well.

Regardless, I never got the sense that the acclaim for Tavares' season came in the form of "he had no one to play with" and more about his goal totals.

You never see a player who isn't recognized as a good player in their own right who is supposedly having their point totals greatly inflated by a linemate have almost the exact same number of points as the player who is supposedly inflating their point totals. Moulson had to be a good player in his own right this season to have 44 pts in 47 games when JT himself only had 47 points.  Furthermore, I decided to actually watch all of his goals on nhl.com and I can tell you he had a lot of help from his linemates. Boyes and Moulson were directly responsible for setting up a good scoring chance for JT on 19 of his goals.

 

[Kin]

You never see a player who isn't recognized as a good player in their own right who is supposedly having their point totals greatly inflated by a linemate have almost the exact same number of points as the player who is supposedly inflating their point totals. Moulson had to be a good player in his own right this season to have 44 pts in 47 games when JT himself only had 47 points.

Like I said, I don't think the general perception is that they aren't good players but that when compared to the guys who Tavares was battling for the scoring lead like Ovechkin and Stamkos that they're a step down from the players the competition had riding shotgun.

  Furthermore, I decided to actually watch all of his goals on nhl.com and I can tell you he had a lot of help from his linemates. Boyes and Moulson were directly responsible for setting up a good scoring chance for JT on 19 of his goals.

I think that can be a tough thing to tell from highlight packages(I'm assuming, I don't know how much of the goals NHL.com shows) because who starts a play can be as important as who finishes it. Regardless, as I said I don't think that the perception of Tavares' value came from who his line mates but from his goal totals.

That said, I fully acknowledge that your subjective analysis differs from someone who would say that Tavares didn't do most of it single handedly.

 

[ontariojames]

You never see a player who isn't recognized as a good player in their own right who is supposedly having their point totals greatly inflated by a linemate have almost the exact same number of points as the player who is supposedly inflating their point totals. Moulson had to be a good player in his own right this season to have 44 pts in 47 games when JT himself only had 47 points.

Like I said, I don't think the general perception is that they aren't good players but that when compared to the guys who Tavares was battling for the scoring lead like Ovechkin and Stamkos that they're a step down from the players the competition had riding shotgun.

  Furthermore, I decided to actually watch all of his goals on nhl.com and I can tell you he had a lot of help from his linemates. Boyes and Moulson were directly responsible for setting up a good scoring chance for JT on 19 of his goals.

I think that can be a tough thing to tell from highlight packages(I'm assuming, I don't know how much of the goals NHL.com shows) because who starts a play can be as important as who finishes it. Regardless, as I said I don't think that the perception of Tavares' value came from who his line mates but from his goal totals.

That said, I fully acknowledge that your subjective analysis differs from someone who would say that Tavares didn't do most of it single handedly.

I wouldn't argue that Matt Moulson is Marty St. Louis, I'm taking exception with the idea that Tavares had very little support. Based on how many people I've heard or read talk about how he was able to do what he did without much help this season I think people are overrating him.

The video clips on nhl.com show enough of the play before the goal that you can see how the goal developed.

 

[Kin]

Another thing to consider is that the depth a team has matters as well. If a team has two viable scoring lines an opposing defense can't focus entirely on shutting down one. Behind the Tavares line the Islanders get real thin in a real hurry. Behind the Kessel line the Leafs had the Kadri line.

 

[Jalili]

I wouldn't argue that Matt Moulson is Marty St. Louis, I'm taking exception with the idea that Tavares had very little support. Based on how many people I've heard or read talk about how he was able to do what he did without much help this season I think people are overrating him.

The video clips on nhl.com show enough of the play before the goal that you can see how the goal developed.

Tavares tends to bring out the best in his linemates. I think most Isles fans feel that Moulson and Boyes benefit a lot more from playing with Tavares than vice versa.

Tavares is the offensive pivot of that line with Moulson and Boyes. He's the de facto playmaker because the others aren't playmakers, even though he's more of a goal scorer.

Moulson is good but he's more of a specialty player. He does well around the net banging in rebounds and such. The rest of his game is a bit limited.

That Boyes wasn't re-signed and still hasn't found a new team says a lot about how valuable he was to the team despite scoring at a healthy rate.

 

[hockeyfan1]

Tavares tends to bring out the best in his linemates. I think most Isles fans feel that Moulson and Boyes benefit a lot more from playing with Tavares than vice versa.

Tavares is the offensive pivot of that line with Moulson and Boyes. He's the de facto playmaker because the others aren't playmakers, even though he's more of a goal scorer.

Tavares is the 'little bit of everything player'. While still being the face of the franchise, he has certainly come of age as a well-rounded forward who not only keeps getting better in the offensive department category, but has also improved his defensive game.

Not to take anything away from Matt Moulson, (the pride of North York, ON, a suburb of Toronto ), but Tavares was very definitely the reason the New York Islanders made the post-season.  If not for Tavares, it's doubtful Moulson or Boyes in particular, would have had the season they had.

Moulson may very well possibly be the Islanders second-best scorer.  He and Tavares have been magic since the two were paired together for as long as they've been.

As a fan of Tavares & the Islanders, I wish that he had won the Hart Trophy.  To be nominated in the company of the other greats tells a lot about Johnny T's maturity and leadership to his team and to his game.

Way to go, Moulson & JT!...and..Go Isles Go!

 

[Kin]

Sigh...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-03/detroit-billionaires-get-hockey-arena-as-bankrupt-city-suffers.html

 

[hockeyfan1]

Sidney Crosby interview that aired recently...

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/video/sidney-crosby-interview-025600220.html