NHL 2024 Offseason

[Majingir]

Re: NHL 2024 Offseason

Marners charity golf event specifically asked TSN/SN to NOT attend. Obviously because he wants the focus to be on the charity and not any sort of hockey talk at all.

But either way, this whole Marner saga feels like it'll end messy for one or both sides. There's no way the Leafs should give in to whatever demands he wants, but they also can't lose him for nothing.

Dubas in his new book admitted his biggest mistake as Leafs GM were the RFA contracts for the big 3. Let's hope Treliving doesn't make the same mistake on Marner that Dubas did.

[Kobalt]

Re: NHL 2024 Offseason

Oilers had a really good offseason and ended that with hiring Stan Bowman as their GM lmao

[DrJones]

Re: NHL 2024 Offseason

Oilers had a really good offseason and ended that with hiring Stan Bowman as their GM lmao

The Old Boys Club remains undefeated.

[Majingir]

Re: NHL 2024 Offseason

If Skinner struggles this season I hear Carter Hart is available.

[pietasterp]

Re: NHL 2024 Offseason

Since Chris Illitch took over the Wings and Tigers the Wings have the 2nd worse record in the NHL only to Chicago (Tigers are worst).
I'm well aware of the terrible Ken Holland contracts Yzerman has had to deal with (how does that guy keep getting jobs), but this Yzerplan is moving far too slowly.
The Wings were in a playoff spot when Larkin got injured for a considerable amount of time.
Once he was gone, the wheels fell off and the team got trounced.
It was clear the Wings need centre depth and more secondary scoring.
So what did Yzerman do? Sign two backup goalies and a 6th defensive dman.
Great.

He alos loves to draft big bodied dependable forwards who have a touch of offense.
The Michael Rasmussen pick is a great example. This guy is a decent bottom-6 forward and he was drafted 9th overall in 2017.
I'd like to see him go for it just once. Go on a limb and try to pick someone with some offensive potential.
I know hindsight is always 20/20, but I remember hoping the Wings might pick Vilardi or Suzuki at that spot.

It's just frustrating with how slowly this is going with no apparent offensive prospects in site.

I don't disagree with any of this, and I think it's fair to start asking questions about Stevie Wonder as GM at this point. Questions like, did he just get lucky in Tampa with a few key guys that panned out and ended up being core guys for years? Why hasn't he been able to find that in Detroit? Who does he see as key guys he wants to build the Wings around (and are those guys on the roster currently)? Etc.

AND the Wings just dumped Robby Fabbri's contract on the Ducks.

Curiouser and curiouser.

So, minus Fabbri, plus Tarasenko? Would be nice if it was more clear what the plan was here...

Panthers are still looking good for 24/25.

Yes we lost a couple of key guys. I think Stenlund was terrific on the PK and he will be missed on that 1st PK line. OEL was also another guy who resurrected his career here and he will be missed too.

Montour…..another great story of someone who we were able to get at a value and he resurrected his career here. But 8MM avg annual is too much imo. Best of luck to Monty in Seattle.

I love how we locked up Rhino and Lundell. Outstanding star player in Reinhart and Lundell is just getting started.

Our core is intact for next season to potentially make another run if we can stay healthy and the newcomers can fit right in. In Zito we trust. He has done a tremendous job at finding 1MM value guys who fit Paul Maurice’s system.

After this upcoming season both Ekblad and Knight’s contract will be up. That is 11MM total there that we can use to resign Sam Bennett and hopefully Carter Verhage.

30 years we waited and wow….so happy.

I had the once in a lifetime experience of being able to celebrate in the locker room with these guys after they won the cup. We were partying from 12 to 3:30AM and yes I got to hoist the cup over my head with a big stogie in my mouth…..guys it was surreal.

2 of the players are clients of mine so that’s how my business partner and I had access with their families and friends.

Just an amazing time. And there are no better athletes in the world who are as approachable and as humble as NHL hockey players. I love these guys.

It was a journey (yes I am also a season ticket holder). I am still on a huge high from all of this.

I will absolutely be in this sub forum a lot more moving forward to talk hockey. It has taken over for me over the last 3-4 years as my favorite spectator sport. It’s really amazing. Baseball is still my first love but hockey has replaced the NBA and NFL. I can’t stomach those leagues much anymore. The NHL is awesome. And I have always watched hockey but really have become hardcore since the 2020/2021 season.

Go Panthers!!!!!

Great to have you on the sub-forum, Armor! It kinda waxes & wanes in terms of participation (raises hand) but there's a core group here that are the Lady Byng of OS winners for the past decade+ running.

Florida Panthers question for you - Brooks Koepka: "in" or "out" of the Panthers' family?

*follow-up bonus question: does Brooks have a puncher's chance in boxing match with Aaaron Ekblad? At say, 20-1 odds?

[Majingir]

Re: NHL 2024 Offseason

The NHL is closely watching (and seemingly ready to punish) the Leafs should they put Tanev on LTIR before his deals up.

Everyone's under the impression the Leafs signed him to a 6 year deal to lower his cap hit since they'd put him on LTIR to end his career. The league doesn't like that it could happen in a few years.

Meanwhile teams abuse LTIR right now and the league doesn't care.

Don't tell me the league isn't rigged/biased towards certain markets/geographical areas.

[DrJones]

Re: NHL 2024 Offseason

The NHL is closely watching (and seemingly ready to punish) the Leafs should they put Tanev on LTIR before his deals up.

Source for this?

[Majingir]

Re: NHL 2024 Offseason

Source for this?

https://www.hockeyfeed.com/nhl-news/...ting-cba-rules

According to a report from Jim Parsons of The Hockey News and The Hockey Writers, the Toronto Maple Leafs may be in some hot water with the NHL concerning the Chris Tanev contract that was signed earlier this offseason.


Technically, the Leafs haven't done anything wrong just yet. But Parsons and Eric Duhatschek of The Athletic report that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is scrutinizing the LTIR loophole that currently exists and that Tanev is a prime target to be made an example of should the Leafs go down the LTIR road with him before his deal expires.

So if the Leafs do it, they'll likely be made the example of for the league.

[DrJones]

Re: NHL 2024 Offseason

https://www.hockeyfeed.com/nhl-news/...ting-cba-rules

Ah yes, the ever-reliable Hockey Feed site. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

Okay, the article headline reads, "Report: Bettman 'scrutinizing' Leafs' contract for violating CBA rules. Are the Leafs going to get made an example of by Gary Bettman?"

Oh wow, that sounds serious. I want to read this report!

Here's how the article begins: "According to a report from Jim Parsons of The Hockey News and The Hockey Writers, the Toronto Maple Leafs may be in some hot water with the NHL concerning the Chris Tanev contract that was signed earlier this offseason. The issue is with the use of Long-Term Injury Reserve (LTIR) as a way to effectively bury bad contracts near the end of the deal's term.

Technically, the Leafs haven't done anything wrong just yet. But Parsons and Eric Duhatschek of The Athletic report that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is scrutinizing the LTIR loophole that currently exists and that Tanev is a prime target to be made an example of should the Leafs go down the LTIR road with him before his deal expires. The Leafs signed Tanev to a six year deal that will take him to 40 years old."

Ah, okay. We're being told that Jim Parsons and Eric Duhatschek are reporting this, but there are no links to either writer. I want to read what they said! Hmmm, can't find anything from The Hockey News, but (sigh) The Hockey Writers has this Parsons article about Tanev and the Leafs: https://thehockeywriters.com/chris-t...hl-ltir-rules/

Another juicy headline: "Chris Tanev’s Iffy Contract Sparks Debate About NHL LTIR Rules"

Wait, I thought Bettman and the league was scrutinizing the Tanev contract. Instead, his contract is being debated? By whom, exactly?

"The Toronto Maple Leafs’ recent deal involving Chris Tanev has stirred up questions about the NHL’s Long-Term Injured Reserve (LTIR) rules. In a recent mailbag post, The Athletic’s Eric Duhatschek was asked if the NHL might ever revisit the use of LTIR, especially for older players who are signed to contracts that virtually guarantee they won’t play them out. When it comes to Toronto, many believe Tanev will end his career on LTIR, effectively allowing the Leafs to circumvent the salary cap. Should this be allowed?

Oh, I see. So the Hockey Feed used the Hockey Writers article and Duhatschek as sources, and the HW article actually just uses Duhatschek as the sole source (which is from a mailbag question). So clearly Duhatschek has the straight goods on how Bettman and the NHL are looking to stick it to the Leafs. Let's find out!

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/563...s-concussions/

For those that don't have an Athletic subscription, here's the reader question and Duhatschek's response:

Q: "The Maple Leafs have gone all Vegas when it comes to cap circumvention. Nobody believes Chris Tanev will play out his term but will end his career with several years on LTIR. I propose a rule that for any contract of four years or longer for players reaching 35 years old, the team can only claim half the contract on LTIR with the full remaining half staying on the cap. That should keep contracts in the spirit of the cap." — Jeffrey M.

A: "Teams who knowingly sign players well past their best-before date do so because that’s sometimes the cost of doing business when an in-demand player becomes a free agent. Nor will the Maple Leafs be the first or the last team to do so. But the larger question posed by Jeffrey M. is really about cap circumvention — and his notion that the NHL should follow the spirit of the salary cap, which is to even the playing field for every team. If the league genuinely wanted to do that, they would find ways of plugging the loopholes in the system.

This, by the way, is inherently just like the NHL. As soon as a rule is in place, teams try to find creative ways of circumventing it. Ever since the cap system was introduced, teams have found complicated, but legal ways to get around the theoretical cap ceiling.

No issue has been more contentious than the way teams use LTIR to squirrel away high-salaried players in the regular season, only to have them magically cured in time for the first playoff game. (Patrick Kane, Nikita Kucherov and Mark Stone have contributed to Stanley Cup championships for Chicago, Tampa Bay and Vegas respectively, after spending most or all of the season on long-term injured reserve). Thankfully, the NHL has tasked its general managers with at least investigating the matter to consider if a team’s line-up should be cap-compliant for playoff games. Nothing’s advanced passed the talking stages, but I do believe there’s enough pushback, not just from teams but also from angry fan bases, that the NHL understands the current system is a bad look. Change probably won’t come until the next CBA negotiations, but those are not that far away."

That's it. This is the only primary source. The bold section is what the other 2 articles were based upon.

To recap:

1. July 17: Duhatschek gets asked in an Athletic mailbag about Tanev's contract length and whether he'll (nudge nudge) retire on LTIR as Hossa, Pronger, etc. did in the past. Duhatschek doesn't even address the Tanev contract, and talks about the cap shenanigans that Tampa and Vegas have pulled in recent years, and that certain GMs are at the "talking stages" of whether teams should be cap-compliant for playoff games (mind you, this is a COMPLETELY different issue than Tanev retiring early and being stashed on LTIR), and maybe something might be done about it during the next CBA negotiations (summer 2026).

2. July 30: Duhatschek's mailbag reply somehow turns into a "Chris Tanev’s Iffy Contract Sparks Debate About NHL LTIR Rules" headline on The Hockey Writers site. The only source cited is Duhatschek.

3. July 31: Hockey Feed takes the HW article and doubles down with "Report: Bettman 'scrutinizing' Leafs' contract for violating CBA rules. Are the Leafs going to get made an example of by Gary Bettman?" The only sources cited are Duhatschek and the HW article (whose only source was Duhatschek).

4. Aug 1: Maj reads the HF headline, concludes that the NHL is rigged against his Leafs, and rushes onto OS to tell us all about it.

Do you see what I'm getting at here, folks? HF and THW are clickbait sites that aggregate news from other sites (but never providing direct links, and often cannibalizing each other), add a juicy misleading headline, and Bob's your uncle. HF and THW writers are paid by the click and gotta eat somehow! (BTW, for fun, google "Tanev LTIR" and you'll find headlines such as "Maple Leafs in Hot Water" and "Maple Leafs Facing Serious Allegations" and "Maple Leafs May Be Punished", etc., etc. based on nothing more than Duhatschek's response to a reader in which he doesn't mention Tanev and talks about a completely different LTIR issue.)

Basically this, except deliberate and monetized:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6lH-yw5vffg?si=MHc4w9gHiRBOJ2Kk" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Now bear in mind that this happens all the time about things far more important and less amusing than the persecution complex of Maple Leafs fans (politics, social issues, world events, etc.) and you'll understand why I hate the internet. Please don't get your sports news (or any kind of news) from garbage websites, friends.

[Majingir]

Re: NHL 2024 Offseason

Here's a crazy one. Leafs are naming Matthews captain while Tavares gets demoted to the A.

Tavares apparently on board with this choice.

Matthews no doubt is the more outgoing/vocal guy, especially compared to Tavares, I wonder if that's a Berube decision? Could it also be a sign one way or the other that Tavares is either willing to take a reduced salary on his next year if he's fine with the demotion, or maybe he'd want out?

[Majingir]

Re: NHL 2024 Offseason

Laine to Montreal, that'll be interesting

[Majingir]

Re: NHL 2024 Offseason

Blues signed Holloway and Broberg to offer sheets, Oilers didn't have enough space to match.

Oilers dumped Cecis contract.

Oilers then proceeded to not match the Blues offers.

Only the 3rd and 4th times in the modern NHL history that an offer sheet wasn't matched.

Dustin Penner was the 1st

Jesperi Kotkaniemi was the 2nd

[Majingir]

Re: NHL 2024 Offseason

Sharks get Askarov.

Lots of Ifs obviously, but for a rebuilding team, having Askarov and Celebrini to build around could be huge.

[Majingir]

Re: NHL 2024 Offseason

Don't know what it is, but seems that at least a few teams are going with different centre ice logos this year that fills the entire circle instead of just their logo.

Makes it feel more like an NBA court at half court but I like how it looks so far.

[Psyblast]

Re: NHL 2024 Offseason

Ugh.

Went to bed really, really, really hoping the rumors about Johnny Gaudreau and his brother were somehow false.

Woke up this morning to see they have been tragically confirmed.

What a gut punch. Damn.