Follow @james_tanner123 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: The Sedins combining for nine points last night. How can two twins who play together for their whole careers on the same team and who are both 100% going to the Hall of Fame seem so common place? It's like one of the weirdest, unlikeliest things of all-time.
We're just used to it, I think, but they're so consistent, their aging like a couple of Benjamin Buttons and I am at least 90% sure that in the 2009-10 season, just for fun, Henrick played wing and wore Daniel's jersey, and vice-versa.
I mean, how could they resist doing that, at least sometimes? I don't think these dudes get the recognition they deserve, and I sort of feel bad about how badly Vancouver has assembled their current roster around them. I picked them for last in the NHL this year, perhaps I was underrating the impact the Sedins alone can have, but generally speaking, still not a fan of their roster and I don't expect them to be a Playoff team.
PLUS:The Blue Jays' Josh Donaldson winning the MVP. I cheer for Toronto sports teams, mainly, and so if you don't, you probably don't realize how crazy it is to have an MVP.
Then Hockeybuzz hired me and the expectation was that you would market your work. So I joined up and I thought 'hey, this ain't so bad." But, after two years, I have to say it is that bad. I figure the main use of Twitter and social networks in general is to bully and shame people who commit minor transgressions. It makes me sick, frankly.
I actually felt bad for this guy:
Then again, I love this job and any job that is good has some drawbacks. And I do enjoy the comments section on this site - God knows why - but I do.
MINUS:The Leafs/Bruins game last night. That was the most excessively boring snoozefest I've seen that didn't involve the 1990s New Jersey Devils.
To say that that game sucked is to insult other things that suck.
PLUS: When the Oilers go on their inevitable ten-game winning streak I am going to be insufferable. Just fair warning.
MINUS: Bold predictions, hot-takes, tire fire, garbage fire, pump the breaks, the curious case of....., writing out "sigh", meh, because + verb, memes, gifs, political correctness, facepalm, and anyone who writes LOL.
PLUS: The skit "Should You Chime In" from last night's SNL. If only like 99% of people could watch this and then shut up.
MINUS: The complete lack of trades, suspensions, controversies, coach firings or general off-ice action lately. While I'm not saying I want people hurt or fired, from an entertainment perspective, it's been kind of boring so far, no?
Who knew? (Hint, I know someone who did!)
MINUS: Sidney Crosby, ten points. What the hell? Jacob Voracek!! The Flyers get shutout so often that Voracek actually has to give some of the points he does have back, like a loser on Jeopardy having to cut Alex Trebec a check for going into the minuses.
All I know is that if it was 20 games into the season and I had players this good playing this badly I would fire the coach, or do something equally drastic.
PLUS: Went out for sushi for the first time ever the other night. It was really good, which I did not expect. I should have been stuffing weird stuff into my mouth all along, I guess.
MINUS: The Coyotes inexplicably signed Antoine Vermette to come back and play for them after they got an absolute haul for him at last year's deadline and he went on to play poorly for the Blackhawks in the Playoffs.
The MINUS isn't for bringing him back, it's for the fact that it wasn't the worst move they made since then. (Trading for Grossmann; Re-singing Michalek; signing John Scott; trading Gormley; not properly utilizing Connor Murphy; entering the season with a single quality NHL centre).
Vermette's stats for the year: 14 GP 1 5v5 assist, 1 PP assist, 46% Corsi. Quite literally one of the worst players in the NHL.
PLUS: If you're going to play Brad Richardson on the second line, maybe get the team equipment manager to block out the last three letters of his name, see if that helps.
MINUS: Connor Murphy and Philip Samuelsson played about 6 minutes at 5v5 last night, by far the least used pair. But they put up a 65% CF rating, and they pretty much always do. But who cares about reality, because Coyotes fans/reporters love Dahlbeck and think Michalek is good, so who am I to disagree?
Ten Stars.
Thanks for reading.