PLUS/MINUS is the NHL's worst stat, however, if you care about that, you probably don't even watch the games anyways. Measuring anything is crazy - it's the internet, just guess and then get really, really defensive about your position!
PLUS: Toronto Blue Jays. Sure, they missed out on the World Series, but as I've long said, we tend to over-rate Championships. Not that they aren't nice and everything, but we seem to treat sports in a boom or bust way that says everyone who doesn't win the Championship is a huge loser.
The Jays missed the World Series by three games, but they provided a ton of excitement and entertainment and when it's all said and done, they missed out because of bad luck. Teams with Tulo, EE, Jose, and Donaldson aren't going to lose too many series where they hold the other team to so few runs.
When you lose because you don't do the thing you do best, it stings more, but maybe it shouldn't. I loved watching this team and back-to-back years in the final four is in some ways more impressive than a one-off Championship.
If you were born the year the Cubs last went to the World Series, you'd be over 70 today, so really, people shouldn't take even making the Playoffs for granted.
PLUS: Since we started in T.O lets stay there for a minute. The Leafs are off to what would be a 5-0 start if they didn't blow four games in the third period.
This is a team with six rookies who plays Matt Hunwick and Roman Polak, so I'm not sure what everyone expected, but can we please leave the goalie alone?
Don Cherry should be ashamed of his ridiculous rant against Andersen last night, which will only serve to turn the fans against him Bernier-style. (Which is like Gagnam Style, but worse).
Andersen began the season for a new team, in the highest-pressure market in the world, trying to justify a somewhat bad contract and playing in front of the aforementioned six rookies and Matt Hunwick. And he's doing it with a screwed up shoulder. (One assumes, but I'd rather be wrong than say upper body injury).
So let's cut the dude some slack and mention how awesome he was in O.T last night. The lead blowing is a long-term plus for this team of rookies. So let's all be cool and enjoy what we have.
PLUS: A really good movie you should watch is Whisky Tango Foxtrot I agreed to watch it only after a 45 minute Netflix scan which brought me to the brink of not even wanting to watch a movie at all. It turned out to be fantastic. + soundtrack too.
MINUS: The re-worked Hockey Night in Canada still stinks. Sorry to say, but it's crap.
Ron McLean got his job back (which is nice) but they seem to have used that to lazily refused to re-work the show.
Here's what is needed (and I'll give it for free, but they could hire me if they wanted to)
1. Actual analysis of the game that is happening.
2. Less "feel good" "Home Town Hockey" crap.
3. Inclusion of things like possession and other so-called advanced stats.
4. A segment each week that teaches the audience about advanced concepts and strategies.
5. Instead of four annoying middle aged white guys droning on, could we see a quicker trade-talk segment with just Friedman, and then go back to whoever for some breakdown of the actual game we are watching.
6. More out of town highlights.
7. Hate to say it, but it's time to get rid of Coaches Corner.
PLUS: The fantasy I have where the head of Rogers reads this is like _____ it, let's give this Tanner guy a shot. But then John Chayka steps in and says NOT SO FAST I need an assistant GM, and then a bidding war ensues. Later, Scarlett Johansen convinces me to turn down both jobs, and my wife and I move with her to Utah.
MINUS: The Oilers need to stop with these Alumni Games. Every time I turn around it's a frigging Oilers reunion. You know what Steven Spielberg did after the 80s? He made Jurassic Park and Minority Report so get over it already.
PLUS Three websites I want to recognize as awesome that I believe will make your obsession with hockey better and more interactive/fun whatever:
Hockeyviz.com Tons and tons of visual representations of hockey stats. Amazing.
Corsica.hockey A huge improvement over the former waronice.com this is the GO-TO hockey stats site. (All stats from them today, as usual, and all stats are 5v5 unless otherwise mentioned).
DFSdatalytics.com A great subscription based site for Daily Fantasy players.
In my opinion, all three of these sites massively improve your hockey following experience.
MINUS: Any short sighted fool using the Canadiens fast start to justify their absolutely ridiculous and unforgivable trading of PK Subban. Last time I checked, six games doesn't mean ___ (expletive deleted).
PLUS: Anthony Duclair has zero points this season, but don't let that fool you. This kid is the real deal. Defensively aware, drives possession and has 40 goal potential.
Duclair is a 53% Corsi so far and currently rocks a PDO of 88, which obviously indicates that we're just talking about four games here, but that is absurdly low regardless.
PLUS: The Coyotes play the Rangers tonight for some Sunday Night Action, and you can put your money on Duclair finally getting a point. The Coyotes currently sit in the NHL's basement and they have scored only 12 goals in four games. (Which, actually, isn't terrible, but only 7 of them are at 5v5 which is kind of terrible).
Their team is better than this and you can look for them to turn it around, starting tonight, against an overrated Rangers team on the second half of a back-to-back.
PLUS: Don't underrated the sublime William Nylander just because he plays with two of the most exciting rookies in NHL history - this kid is a future NHL Award winning All-Star.
PLUS: I hate to sound like a broken record, but have you watched a Winnipeg game this year? Mark Scheifele is one of the best players in the world and amazing to watch.
PLUS: Did you hear about the Monkey who stole a Jet-Ski?
Money See, Monkey Sea-Do.
I'll be here all week.
MINUS: A note to NHL broadcasters: can you stop with the parents of players interviews? I think I fast forwarded through about 40 of them this week. Also, stop showing them in the crowd. It's the "Cat Story" equivalent of the NHL. Stop now.
MINUS: My Mom told me this "hilarious" story.
Supposedly, back in the day, my maternal grandmother was close friends with a lady who's son was in the NHL, and who's grandson is Connor Murphy.
They supposedly love the idea that these two ladies used to hang out and now one of their grandsons plays in the NHL while the other one writes about him. ( I have, written specifically about Murphy on several occasions).
Let me tell you, if you aren't' the guy in the half of the story making Three Point Eight Five Million Dollars this year, it's not that ____ funny.
Myself? I hope it turns out that my mom and gramma don't follow hockey and have mistaken the identity of Connor Murphy, because it's a bit depressing for me otherwise.
MINUS: Shot-Blocking is dangerous and it makes the games more boring than they have to be by sucking up all the offense. After watching Daniel Winnick take a shot to the ear, I realized that one day a shot will hit someone in the neck or spine and they will die.
Other sports have illegal defense, and it wouldn't take much to get shot blocking out of the game, or at least make some safety rules regarding it.
MINUS: To my great amusement the Ducks who hired my arch-rival, Randy Carlye (it's an admittedly one-sided relationship) and did hilarious things like sign Antoine Vermette are still without their best player because they don't want to pay him more than Rasmus Ristolainen.
To be blunt, Hampus Lindholm and his agent would have to be complete idiots to accept less than Ristolainen because Lindolm is better than him by about six hundred miles, four fathoms, eight nautical miles, twelve wheels, 42 yards, 106 chabots, and like two million bucks.
We're talking the difference between Terminator and Terminator Genisys here.
Take your pick.
Rival GMs should be circling the Ducks like hungry sharks.
MINUS: Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't point out that Dean Lombardi is a ridiculous person masquerading as an NHL GM. If I was the owner of the team he worked for, I would have fired him the second I read his ridiculous quotes in Mike Waldner's piece for the Daily Breeze this week.
(Actually I would have fired him a long time ago, but you get my point).
You should read the article yourself, but the quotes are preposterous.
It’s one thing to look at it, but, quite frankly, you’ve got to be careful with some of these things,” he said. “The one thing that is missing in all of this is no one has shown the correlation with winning.
OK! Quite Frankly I want to know how this guy managed to get a law degree. I mean, it's not as if he hired John Torterella and though he could beat skill with Justin Abdelkader.........
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