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PLUS MINUS: A Midsummer Nights' Rating of Everything

July 15, 2018, 1:43 PM ET [76 Comments]
James Tanner
Washington Capitals Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT


We take the NHL's worst stat and put it to good use!

PLUS: The NHL's off-season has been almost as fun as it's regular season. Tavares signed with the Leafs, Karlsson has been on and off and on the block all summer and Carolina and Buffalo each made a huge trade. Good times !

MINUS: I don't know what it is about the NHL but everyone comes up with a singular 'take' on any given trade, signing or idea, and that's it. It's very homogenous and, frankly, depressing.

Carolina destroyed Calgary because they got the best player.

Same with St. Louis!

But if you think about it, maybe those common crystallized takes are not true.

Sure, the Flames traded Hamilton and he's among the best in the NHL.

But they might have traded three years of Hamilton and the option to sign him to an inflated post thirties deal in exchange for up to 16 years of Hamilton and Lindholm, of which all 16 years would be in their twenties.

And Buffalo? If they swap out the two vets they got at the deadline, they could conceivably be looking at a seven lottery ticket for one asset situation.

But if you bring this up, you just get subtweeted by some ___ with more 'credibility.'

PLUS: I am not embarrassed to admit to how much I liked the sequel to Jumanji.

I think it should get Best Picture consideration - no movie I've seen recently has been more fun to watch or more entertaining.

MINUS: It's too hot playa. I hate the summer.



PLUS: Last night I watched Red Sparrow and Ready Player One. Both were excellent films. I rate Red Sparrow six Tavareses out of seven, and Ready Player One gets a similarly strong rating. I thought both were really, really good.

PLUS: The Arctic Monkeys Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino.

I buy and listen to a lot of albums, and I listen to probably 12 + hours of music every single day. I play an instrument, I've recorded an album. I actually might be the expert on music that I pretend to be about hockey, so listen to me when I say this:

This is one of the best albums that has ever been released. This is - no hyperbole - a record that deserves to stand with Pet Sounds, Brighten the Corners, Daydream Nation, Kid A, Doolittle, After the Goldrush and Modern Vampires of the City.

It's the kind of mind-blowing masterpiece that reveals something new each listen and from which you can derive hours of joy and pleasure.

PLUS: Don Waddell. I mercilessly mocked the Hurricanes for hiring Waddell and I have to say he's been great so far. Even though I like the trade Calgary did, there is no question it was also good for the Hurricanes. Their blue-line should be the envy of every team in the NHL. Maybe Nashville is better due to their 4 x hall of fame superstar elite #1 Dman combo, but the Hurricanes are no joke either.

As it stands, their BOTTOM PAIRING is Justin Faulk and Trevor Van Riemsdyk, which would be a very good second pairing on a contending team. People might not even know how good De Haan, Slavin and Pesce are, but along with Dougie Hamiton, they make the second best top-four in the NHL.

MINUS: The Firing of Garth Snow. I was one of Snow's only supporters. I think he was creative, smart, bold and not adverse to risk. I think he was to NHL GM-ing as I am to NHL-writing. By which I mean underrated and brilliant.

Sort of a big irony that firing him cost the Islanders Tavares, when you consider how much crap the guy took. I guess that will teach ya!

MINUS: Lou Lamoriello. Garth Snow is the Beatles to Lou Lamoriello's 21 Pilots. Losing Tavares sucks for the Islanders fans, but having Lou Lamoriello in charge is arguably worse. Ignoring the loss of Tavares, no GM has made worse moves this summer. Leo Komarov for ten years? What is this dude thinking?

MINUS: I read the new Stephen King book,the Outsider. I am a big King fan and I enjoyed this book, however the suspense was ruined by the fact it was a Stephen King book.

The book starts with a guy who has both a rock solid alibi and all the forensic evidence against him. If the book was written by ANYONE ELSE you might get some suspense out of that premise. But since it's a Stephen King book, if you don't immediately guess 'shape shifting monster' you must be an idiot!

His name on the cover gives it away!!


PLUS: Pools. Water. Air Conditioning. Beer. Wintertime. Snow.

MINUS: Worst signing of the summer? Robyn Lehner. Just not a good goalie.

MINUS: The Ottawa Senators. They need a new owner and a new GM. They do not need to be trading Erik Karlsson. What they need to do, is burn the whole thing down and then whoever is in charge when that is done should give EK whatever he wants. When you have an all-time great player, you don't auction him off in his prime for a few prospects.

Does anyone remember what the Capitals traded for Jagr back when this happened to him? The Senator need to seriously rethink what they are doing.

PLUS: I really like that the Coyotes added Hinistroza and Osterle. Two smart low-iey pickups!

PLUS: I just want to say that Marc Bergevin is amazing.

thanks for reading!
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