Holy Christ, you have to be so precise on this effing website.

I never said anything about his 'technical writing', his use of grammar, his spelling or his use of punctuation.

Using proper punctuation and grammar does not make one a good writer.

I was referring t his ability to be entertaining. I find some of his points can be of interest.....but the amount of trash you have to wade through is just not worth the time and energy required.
- Dollars2Donuts

Haaaaave you met Garf...?

Holy Christ, you have to be so precise on this effing website.

I never said anything about his 'technical writing', his use of grammar, his spelling or his use of punctuation.

Using proper punctuation and grammar does not make one a good writer.

I was referring t his ability to be entertaining. I find some of his points can be of interest.....but the amount of trash you have to wade through is just not worth the time and energy required.
- Dollars2Donuts

Fair enough. Regardless, we seem to be in agreement. Tanner can be amusing at times, but is clearly not a "writer" in the traditional sense. In any sense, really.

We "gulls" don't have one...so I'll pull out this bad boy...





That's one tricky Richard...
- Steven_Seagull

Interesting.

Given Clinton's behavior trump's nixon's, i say good post.

Fair enough. Regardless, we seem to be in agreement. Tanner can be amusing at times, but is clearly not a "writer" in the traditional sense. In any sense, really.
- AxlRose91

If you guys are done with your (frank)ing whining, its a plenty big internet.

I'm sure there are many other places to find entertainment.

Oilers will miss the playoffs as always! Yak sucks! He has done nothing in the NHL. nothing! What's the deal with the blogs lately? They seem a bit out there. But I know, its August. Not much else I guess.

Holy Christ, you have to be so precise on this effing website.

I never said anything about his 'technical writing', his use of grammar, his spelling or his use of punctuation.

Using proper punctuation and grammar does not make one a good writer.

I was referring t his ability to be entertaining. I find some of his points can be of interest.....but the amount of trash you have to wade through is just not worth the time and energy required.
- Dollars2Donuts

So proper punctuation or grammar isn't necessary to be a good writer? What backwards world are you living in?

The oilers are a big Question mark on defence no doubt about it

But sekera is a super solid 2 pairing guy.
Very Crafty and a solid defender. Was everything the oilers could've hoped for last year. Just got thrown to the wolves as a number 1 and he struggled at times. Limit his minutes and competition and he can excel. He even did some nights two spots ahead of where he shoulda been

Nurse was super bad, but the hate is abit silly. He's been a pro for a total of 1 year. and again, got absolutely thrown to the wolves when injuries hit and some nights early in the season was played in the top 4!!
Still a great talent and I'm far from ready to heap on the hate just yet

If those two are played properly and Davidson even just matches last season, it could be a pretty reasonable group.

Add to that talbot matching his second half and things may not be all doom and gloom

Obviously a healthy klefbom and larsson even being partially what the oilers hope is pretty paramount too...

The oilers are a big Question mark on defence no doubt about it

But sekera is a super solid 2 pairing guy.
Very Crafty and a solid defender. Was everything the oilers could've hoped for last year. Just got thrown to the wolves as a number 1 and he struggled at times. Limit his minutes and competition and he can excel. He even did some nights two spots ahead of where he shoulda been

Nurse was super bad, but the hate is abit silly. He's been a pro for a total of 1 year. and again, got absolutely thrown to the wolves when injuries hit and some nights early in the season was played in the top 4!!
Still a great talent and I'm far from ready to heap on the hate just yet

If those two are played properly and Davidson even just matches last season, it could be a pretty reasonable group.

Add to that talbot matching his second half and things may not be all doom and gloom

Obviously a healthy klefbom and larsson even being partially what the oilers hope is pretty paramount too...
- Ihateallofu

Yeah I stopped reading when Tanner more or less said he was poop. Can only imagine what other nuggets of truth he decided to share with us simple folk.

Rinne is a top 10 goalie

Yeah I stopped reading when Tanner more or less said he was poop. Can only imagine what other nuggets of truth he decided to share with us simple folk.
- Wildschwein

I see tons of blogs/posts basically stating him as an afterthought at best.
He was a quality defender for us, full stop.

I haven't seen his fancies, but I watched much of a solid 60 games last year and his play was not an issue at all. Quite the opposite. And I believe he'll be even more effective playing in a role that he's better suited for in the 2nd pairing

Yeah I stopped reading when Tanner more or less said he was poop. Can only imagine what other nuggets of truth he decided to share with us simple folk.
- Wildschwein

I didn't get that far... I stopped at, "PK Rinne is the worst starting goalie in the NHL."

I didn't get that far... I stopped at, "PK Rinne is the worst starting goalie in the NHL."
- laughs2907

Yet another nugget of wisdom.

Admittedly Rinne has run into a rough patch this last year. He isn't putting up numbers like he used to. But he is in no way worse than the likes of Lehtonen, Niemi or Pavelec.

Seriously, Chia must be a Trojan horse for the NHL. Having McDavid out shadowing Hall on the same team isn't good for business. Edmonton will have fans no matter what, NJ needs an exciting player to have fans. Think about it.

He's either an NHL trojan horse, or hes so incompetent that he made the worst trade of the decade.
- domi_legend

Kessel trade
Rask trade
Steen trade

All made bu your team. All far worse

Are you effin nuts...do you really think Rundblad is a top 4 defenceman??? He couldn't crack top 6 in Chicago. You really think Rinne is 30th in your book??? The Hawks won't make the playoff??? You are effin nuts.

I think you find really high support among people who are even just mildly interested in stats that Rinne is one of the worst, possibly worst, starters in the league.

Datsyuk was statistically the best or second player in the NHL last year. That is perhaps the biggest loss of talent for no return in NHL history.

Say what you want about Rundblad, his statistical record as an NHL player is phenomenal. It is not outside the realm of possibility that every single team could pass on a good player. Look how long it took Hudler to sign, or Brad Boyes last year. It happens a lot actually. Marc Arcobello, Sam Gagner etc.
- James_Tanner

As every Hawks fan here who has watched him play has already comment, Rundblad is garbage. His stats look good but he played with Keith covering his ass two years ago and he started almost 70% of his possession in the offensive zone, so he should look like he's dominating possession and Corsi/Fenwick. He's not terrible in the offensive zone as he does have a nice shot but his problem is between his ears. He is very easily rattled by physical play and doesn't do a good job of making quick decisions. There's a reason why he didn't play much in the playoffs - he can't handle the speed and physical nature of the game. And you want to make him a top 4 player? Your precision stats are misleading you James. Might be time to consider the fact that there are outliers with statistics.

Say what you want about Rundblad, his statistical record as an NHL player is phenomenal. It is not outside the realm of possibility that every single team could pass on a good player. Look how long it took Hudler to sign, or Brad Boyes last year. It happens a lot actually. Marc Arcobello, Sam Gagner etc.
- James_Tanner

James, I agree with the guy who says you are a talented writer. You do a really good job of framing entertaining and provocative arguments around stats and concepts as you present them. That takes ability and bodes well for a bright future at this for you. However, you are far too dismissive of those who find your arguments lacking when they factually deconstruct your provocative statements.

Your above argument about Rundblad I think highlights some of the flaws in your methodologies. You over-rely on the story the stats tell without putting them into any context. Its the inverse of those old-school scouts who refuse to modernize the way they evaluate players. While it isn't possible to watch all 700 players in the NHL on a nightly basis, one has to be able to apply the stats to the eye test of what actually happens on the ice. As a guy who has seen a lot of David Rundblad play (and a guy who also played at a high level and covered the league for almost 20 years), I can assure you that you wouldn't agree if you watched him on a night-in, night-out basis. It's patently obvious that he can't mentally process the game at the speed with which the game is played.

In the context of argument, you always fall back by saying (paraphrasing), "Well this is what the stats say, so I'm obviously right". But there's a reason why Rundblad has bounced around and can't crack a lineup, and it isn't because you are so smart and everyone else in the league is an idiot. It's that those stats don't play out in action. This isn't Strat-O-Matic hockey. Guys go out on the ice and actual consequences result from their play.

And while I get frustrated with you, and I disagree with you about 94% of the time, I do appreciate that you make hockey fans come out and defend their positions. That's good for the game and the site.

Yeah I stopped reading when Tanner more or less said he was poop. Can only imagine what other nuggets of truth he decided to share with us simple folk.
- Wildschwein

There was a study that showed that in 99.99% of cases, people who claimed "I stopped reading when..." actually read the whole thing.

Rinne is a top 10 goalie
- mr.sir

Sometimes we are just sharing our opinions. But is an actual fact that Rinne is among the worst starting goalies in hockey. His statistics are awful, and for a long time now.

James, I agree with the guy who says you are a talented writer. You do a really good job of framing entertaining and provocative arguments around stats and concepts as you present them. That takes ability and bodes well for a bright future at this for you. However, you are far too dismissive of those who find your arguments lacking when they factually deconstruct your provocative statements.

Your above argument about Rundblad I think highlights some of the flaws in your methodologies. You over-rely on the story the stats tell without putting them into any context. Its the inverse of those old-school scouts who refuse to modernize the way they evaluate players. While it isn't possible to watch all 700 players in the NHL on a nightly basis, one has to be able to apply the stats to the eye test of what actually happens on the ice. As a guy who has seen a lot of David Rundblad play (and a guy who also played at a high level and covered the league for almost 20 years), I can assure you that you wouldn't agree if you watched him on a night-in, night-out basis. It's patently obvious that he can't mentally process the game at the speed with which the game is played.

In the context of argument, you always fall back by saying (paraphrasing), "Well this is what the stats say, so I'm obviously right". But there's a reason why Rundblad has bounced around and can't crack a lineup, and it isn't because you are so smart and everyone else in the league is an idiot. It's that those stats don't play out in action. This isn't Strat-O-Matic hockey. Guys go out on the ice and actual consequences result from their play.

And while I get frustrated with you, and I disagree with you about 94% of the time, I do appreciate that you make hockey fans come out and defend their positions. That's good for the game and the site.
- jam10sugar

I appreciate your post, but I don't see how what I wrote was dismissive. And actually, if you look at the general tone of what I have to deal with, I'm pretty polite and patient. Fact is, Rundblads stats are excellent. When a player is measurably effective and doesn't seem to catch on anywhere, this is exactly the kind of thing that should interest any hockey fan.

Wow, not sure if I've ever seen such a lack of knowledge of any sport in a single blog.

Well done

I appreciate your post, but I don't see how what I wrote was dismissive. And actually, if you look at the general tone of what I have to deal with, I'm pretty polite and patient. Fact is, Rundblads stats are excellent. When a player is measurably effective and doesn't seem to catch on anywhere, this is exactly the kind of thing that should interest any hockey fan.
- James_Tanner

The tone of what you have to deal with is directly related to the arrogant tone of your writing where you think everything you say is 100% right and everybody else is a moron. You contradict yourself on a daily basis. You berate people for not having an open mind to your thoughts yet you do the exact same thing with others and quite blatantly assume that anybody who has been involved in the game their whole life doesn't deserve a coaching or management job.

I'm sure I've posted this before but RadioHead would say "You do it to yourself, you do, and that's what really hurts. You do it to yourself, you do, you and noone else."

It's a similar situation to the difference between Leaf poster comments on Garth's absurd Leaf hate/Sabre homer ramblings compared to the very same Leaf posters comments on the real Sabre blogger Michael Pachla's thread.

That said, I am truly interested in your reasons why Chicago should miss the playoffs this season. This one seems absurd. Although I do agree EDM, CGY and WINNY are on the rise, but not yet at the expense of Chicago.

The tone of what you have to deal with is directly related to the arrogant tone of your writing where you think everything you say is 100% right and everybody else is a moron. You contradict yourself on a daily basis. You berate people for not having an open mind to your thoughts yet you do the exact same thing with others and quite blatantly assume that anybody who has been involved in the game their whole life doesn't deserve a coaching or management job.

I'm sure I've posted this before but RadioHead would say "You do it to yourself, you do, and that's what really hurts. You do it to yourself, you do, you and noone else."

It's a similar situation to the difference between Leaf poster comments on Garth's absurd Leaf hate/Sabre homer ramblings compared to the very same Leaf posters comments on the real Sabre blogger Michael Pachla's thread.

That said, I am truly interested in your reasons why Chicago should miss the playoffs this season. This one seems absurd. Although I do agree EDM, CGY and WINNY are on the rise, but not yet at the expense of Chicago.
- Njuice

Classic. Blah blah blah insult, whining, insult.....but can I please have your opinion?

Phhhh. love to be able to say what I think of you, unfortunately, this comment section isn't a two-way street.

Classic. Blah blah blah insult, whining, insult.....but can I please have your opinion?

Phhhh. love to be able to say what I think of you, unfortunately, this comment section isn't a two-way street.
- James_Tanner

Sent it by PM. won't hurt my feelings.

Are you seriously denying that you act like an arrogant jerk? I act like an arrogant jerk, but at least I can acknowledge it.

Still waiting on the reasoning behind your absurd blackhawk opinion...

Classic. Blah blah blah insult, whining, insult.....but can I please have your opinion?

Phhhh. love to be able to say what I think of you, unfortunately, this comment section isn't a two-way street.
- James_Tanner

What he said was criticism. He gave a firm opinion and most people on here would surely agree with what he said.

But you tune it out and ask for his opinion again? Then say you wish you could insult him back?

Do you realize how that makes you look? It makes look like you don't have even basic reading comprehension skills.

Classic. Blah blah blah insult, whining, insult.....but can I please have your opinion?

Phhhh. love to be able to say what I think of you, unfortunately, this comment section isn't a two-way street.
- James_Tanner

Well done, Tanner.