The Official 2024-25 Season Talk Thread

[l3ulvl]

Re: The Official 2024-25 Season Talk Thread

Red Wings played one heck of a road game tonight. Dominated most of the game against the Sens, and in the end a broken stick scramble ending up in the back of our net was the difference. We scored a game-tying goal that was late by just a second or so.

I'm starting to suspect that it just might not be our year...

It was funny to me when the team celebrated anyway lol, it wasn't even close. Winning the draw with 2.5 left and putting in the net was cool, but they knew it wasn't good

edit: 48 saves by Ullmark damn

bonus edit: 6 straight Ls for Detroit, just when it seemed they had it figured out

[TheMatrix31]

Re: The Official 2024-25 Season Talk Thread

It's odd that Carolina is getting all this flak when like, they've been such a hot franchise for a couple years now.

How did they ever get to that point of success with this reputation.

[pietasterp]

Re: The Official 2024-25 Season Talk Thread

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/610...shared_article

Players were polled a while ago and Carolina was voted the worst facility by a lot.

Interesting. Sounds like players don't like the dressing rooms. Attached a snippet of the player poll from The Athletic.

I have no doubt the players hate it. I mean, at the end of the day, it is a college basketball arena. There are some nice college hoops stadiums for sure (especially in the pre-NIL days when schools had to pour money into crazy facilities to attract kids since they weren't paying them directly right? ), but even the nicest don't jive well with the logistics for hockey, and won't have the same amenities and facilities of a purpose-built professional sports arena.

I would guess that as far as player amenities, it's well below league average (as the players have made clear), and probably not unlike some of the old school buildings from the 60's and 70's that have long since been torn down. But I can't honestly say the fan experience is that bad, much as I want to rag on them as a non-traditional hockey market. And the stadium workers and ushers are friendly (unlike in Boston, where they'll just about let the crazy jabroni Boston fans harass and fight you if you're a visitor...they'll darn near join in).

It's odd that Carolina is getting all this flak when like, they've been such a hot franchise for a couple years now.

How did they ever get to that point of success with this reputation.

I dunno, the old Joe Louis Arena was a total dump (yes, the best hockey ever played in Detroit happened there, but everyone knew it was trash) and the Wings won 4 Cups there. Still, to your point, I think the Winged Wheel on the sweater helped recruit guys who wanted to play there, and it was also a little different era.

Watched the Sportsnet highlight package on YouTube and... they didn't show the non-goal at the end. Time to fire another intern. (The NHL.com highlight package had it.)

LOL. It honestly wasn't that close, to l3ulvl's comment. I thought it was weird that they even celebrated, as it was clearly late.

It was funny to me when the team celebrated anyway lol, it wasn't even close. Winning the draw with 2.5 left and putting in the net was cool, but they knew it wasn't good

edit: 48 saves by Ullmark damn

bonus edit: 6 straight Ls for Detroit, just when it seemed they had it figured out

Ullmark was the difference in that game. Talbot is fine, but he basically won't ever steal a game for you, and that's what you need once in a while.

[DrJones]

Re: The Official 2024-25 Season Talk Thread

It's odd that Carolina is getting all this flak when like, they've been such a hot franchise for a couple years now.

How did they ever get to that point of success with this reputation.

Coaching, drafting, player development, asset management (well, except for Kotkaniemi).

Basic competence in these areas is underrated.

[DrJones]

Re: The Official 2024-25 Season Talk Thread

I dunno, the old Joe Louis Arena was a total dump (yes, the best hockey ever played in Detroit happened there, but everyone knew it was trash) and the Wings won 4 Cups there. Still, to your point, I think the Winged Wheel on the sweater helped recruit guys who wanted to play there, and it was also a little different era.

Mike Ilitch's pocketbook didn't hurt, either!

[pietasterp]

Re: The Official 2024-25 Season Talk Thread

Mike Ilitch's pocketbook didn't hurt, either!

Oh, did I leave out this was pre-salary cap era (at least 3 of the 4 cups)? Must have slipped my mind...

[DrJones]

Re: The Official 2024-25 Season Talk Thread

Oh, did I leave out this was pre-salary cap era (at least 3 of the 4 cups)? Must have slipped my mind...

https://www.sportsbusinesssims.com/nhl-team-payrolls.htm

Some fascinating stuff here. The cap didn't hit the 77M payroll of the 03/04 Rangers until the 18/19 season!

EDIT: The 03/04 Rangers finished 22 points out of the playoffs!

[l3ulvl]

Re: The Official 2024-25 Season Talk Thread

Oh, did I leave out this was pre-salary cap era (at least 3 of the 4 cups)? Must have slipped my mind...

I miss when the Wings were the Yankees lol


edit: I should probly say Dodgers now. Either way, that was a fun time

[Majingir]

Re: The Official 2024-25 Season Talk Thread

https://www.sportsbusinesssims.com/n...m-payrolls.htm

Some fascinating stuff here. The cap didn't hit the 77M payroll of the 03/04 Rangers until the 18/19 season!

EDIT: The 03/04 Rangers finished 22 points out of the playoffs!

That's one thing which really hurt teams early on in the NHL.

That 05/06 season really made no sense because you had such a low salary cap, but teams salaries carried over from the pre cap days.

One of the reasons (along with the gameplay changes) that teams with younger/lower salary guys succeeded so much more like the Sabres and Canes and teams that were salary/vet heavy struggled initially.

[Majingir]

Re: The Official 2024-25 Season Talk Thread

Bruins beat Panthers.

They're still not in a WC spot, but it would be funny if they met in the playoffs.

Don't think a team has ever traded their captain mid season AND faced the team who he got traded to in the playoffs.

[DrJones]

Re: The Official 2024-25 Season Talk Thread

Bruins beat Panthers.

They're still not in a WC spot, but it would be funny if they met in the playoffs.

Don't think a team has ever traded their captain mid season AND faced the team who he got traded to in the playoffs.

Mid-season? Hmm, no I don't think so.

Pre-season? I can think of at least one very famous example.

Personal anecdote: Game 7 of Oilers/Kings was April 15, 1989 and was joined in progress on HNIC immediately following the end of Canucks/Flames (the Stan Smyl breakaway/Joel Otto kick-in game). 16-year-old me was absolutely traumatized/furious and I let out my frustrations while watching EDM/LA (I was cheering for the Kings because f*** Albertan teams, especially back then). So I let loose during that game with a nonstop stream of profanity that would've made Andrew Dice Clay blush (a very dated but era-appropriate reference). Of course, this was the 80s and my parents weren't rich, so we only had one TV and my cursing barrage was directed at the "family" set. Now my Dad had threatened to kick my *** before (he never did), but this was the only night where I was threatened with institutionalization if I didn't shut the f*** up! Good times.

[DrJones]

Re: The Official 2024-25 Season Talk Thread

One of the reasons (along with the gameplay changes) that teams with younger/lower salary guys succeeded so much more like the Sabres and Canes and teams that were salary/vet heavy struggled initially.

And this is why the cap needs to be kept. In addition to killing smaller markets, the on-ice quality of games would suffer greatly. 4 or 5 markets would gobble up all the stars (and grossly overpay older stars), everyone else would go right back to Trap City. I really don't want to watch 25 versions of Rick Tocchet's Canucks.

[Majingir]

Re: The Official 2024-25 Season Talk Thread

And this is why the cap needs to be kept. In addition to killing smaller markets, the on-ice quality of games would suffer greatly. 4 or 5 markets would gobble up all the stars (and grossly overpay older stars), everyone else would go right back to Trap City. I really don't want to watch 25 versions of Rick Tocchet's Canucks.

The cap is fine, but they need a luxury tax.

With a hard cap and trying to make a level playing field, you're now making it uneven because of the tax situation which swings things in the other direction.

Instead of the big markets being able to spend, they're now anchored down to the level of the floor teams.

The luxury tax can allow the big market/high tax teams to spend slightly more while bringing up the lower market teams by giving them the taxed money.

Mid-season? Hmm, no I don't think so.

Pre-season? I can think of at least one very famous example.

Personal anecdote: Game 7 of Oilers/Kings was April 15, 1989 and was joined in progress on HNIC immediately following the end of Canucks/Flames (the Stan Smyl breakaway/Joel Otto kick-in game). 16-year-old me was absolutely traumatized/furious and I let out my frustrations while watching EDM/LA (I was cheering for the Kings because f*** Albertan teams, especially back then). So I let loose during that game with a nonstop stream of profanity that would've made Andrew Dice Clay blush (a very dated but era-appropriate reference). Of course, this was the 80s and my parents weren't rich, so we only had one TV and my cursing barrage was directed at the "family" set. Now my Dad had threatened to kick my *** before (he never did), but this was the only night where I was threatened with institutionalization if I didn't shut the f*** up! Good times.

Mid season is the key. Usually trading your captain mid season is a big sign of a rebuild. But then going on to make the playoffs AND facing the team he's now with would be something.

[DrJones]

Re: The Official 2024-25 Season Talk Thread

How many teams have traded their captain midseason and made the playoffs, period?*

*The Rangers and Lightning both did in 2014, but that was a captain-for-captain trade (Callahan for St. Louis) so I'm not sure if that counts

[l3ulvl]

Re: The Official 2024-25 Season Talk Thread

Mid-season? Hmm, no I don't think so.

Pre-season? I can think of at least one very famous example.

Personal anecdote: Game 7 of Oilers/Kings was April 15, 1989 and was joined in progress on HNIC immediately following the end of Canucks/Flames (the Stan Smyl breakaway/Joel Otto kick-in game). 16-year-old me was absolutely traumatized/furious and I let out my frustrations while watching EDM/LA (I was cheering for the Kings because f*** Albertan teams, especially back then). So I let loose during that game with a nonstop stream of profanity that would've made Andrew Dice Clay blush (a very dated but era-appropriate reference). Of course, this was the 80s and my parents weren't rich, so we only had one TV and my cursing barrage was directed at the "family" set. Now my Dad had threatened to kick my *** before (he never did), but this was the only night where I was threatened with institutionalization if I didn't shut the f*** up! Good times.

Little Miss Muffet, licking ears no gay (not that there's anything wrong with that)