Since +/- is the NHL's worst stat, I thought it would make sense to appropriate it and make it useful as we review the best and worst of the past week in the NHL.
PLUS: Probably this makes me a jerk to say, but I write these every day and outside of one guy - Craig Morgan, who's always been really nice to me - I have been completely ignored by the Coyotes organization and other people who cover it.
That's fine. I don't really care - I'm an out-of-town writer, don't work for a mainstream media corporation and so they really have no reason to care about me and I get it.
However, considering 99% of them were Don Maloney sycophants and I spent the last year ripping all of his moves and his organizational direction, to have him fired for the very reasons I espoused daily brings to me a great feeling of redemption as well as a very overwhelming need to say I told you so.
I told you so!
PLUS: In other news, I argued, that a certain young defenseman should be locked up long term and not given a bridge contract.
I argued that Nazem Kadri, a player long-time readers will know is my favorite player (Non-Swedish Underwear Model Category) was far superior to the point totals he put up and was a player the Leafs should make part of their core.
Of course, there was always a lot of push back against my ideas - most of it unprintable - but to have the organization (just a Hall of Fame GM and Coach, no biggie) publicly agree with me is as vindicating as the Coyotes firing Maloney.
Add in the Boss-man completely agreeing with my take on the disaster in St.Louis the other night and it was a great week for my ego, which, now that I think of it, most weeks are anyways!!!
MINUS: There a weird amount of people complaining that Don Maloney was fired.
If you don't get it, you weren't paying any attention to the league's least paid-attention-to team. If you don't get it, you're guilty of basing your analysis on reputation.
MINUS: I swear to God: The Hockey News actually published an article this week in which they declared that keeping Strome in the minors was 'probably the right move' (this despite the fact that it enraged the coach who won the power-struggle over the now-fired GM) and that the Coyotes were "fairly deep at centre, with Hanzal and Vermette eating up a lot of minutes."
Wait, what?
Hanzal, the guy who refers to Joffrey Lupul as 'Iron Man,' and Vermette, the guy who was a 46% possession player with a negative Relative Corsi to his team, which was the third-worst possession team in the NHL make the team 'fairly deep at centre'????
When you consider how I can't turn on the radio or hit a newspaper without someone with a high paying job taking a shot at 'bloggers' it's pretty crazy that this kind of laziness gets published in a magazine once thought to be the bible of the NHL.
To be clear, the Coyotes are arguably the thinnest team at centre in the entire NHL.
PLUS: Signing Kadri, Firing Maloney, Signing Rielly and this victory lap I'm doing right now.
PLUS: Now that the Coyotes are going in a new, more analytical direction, I think covering the team just got about 19999 X more exciting.
MINUS: How f'd is it that it's worth noting that a team would go in a more 'analytical direction'? I mean if you think about it, what's the opposite of going in an analytical direction? Just guessing?
So dumb.
MINUS: Team Canada doesn't apparently care. Or they just have too many good players to be forced to see reason. But leaving T.J Brodie, Kris Letang, P.K Subban and Jake Muzzin off their roster is bizarre.
They named Doughty, Keith, Weber and Vlasic. The four players I just named are, collectively, way, way better.
Apparently, one of these players should win a Norris and the other shouldn't even be mentioned among the best in the league.
MINUS: That reputation is the presiding factor in player evaluations, by both media and fans.
MINUS: I guess it's fun to pretend Kobe Bryant wasn't one of the biggest bad-guys in all of sports. It was pathetic that they just let him score as many points as he wanted for one of the fakest and lamest retirement parties ever.
PLUS: Even despite the two Jakes presence in the NHL, the most underrated player in the NHL might be James Reimer.
Of goalies who played 40 games: 2nd in Save % and adjusted Save % and he faced almost 3 extra shots per game than the guy ahead of him, Brian Elliott. (Blues vs Leafs people).
Reimer also leads the NHL in Save% on high-danger scoring chances. (all stats 5v5).
It must suck to have this kind of season and then have to sit in the playoffs for a worse goalie.
Whether it's the Leafs or Coyotes, somebody has to go out and make Reimer a good offer this summer, he'll be a UFA and, potentially, the best one available.
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