What did you think Duncan Keith meant when he said “The NHL isn’t a development league?”
- paulr

It meant - "Stan you f$cking idiot, I have had enough of playing with Rundblad, Joki and Bovqist. Get me outta here"

No. Bad teams draft poorly and make bad decisions personal wise.

Good teams get lucky with top end talent and bring in the appropriate veterans to solidify the line up.

Better for those kids to toughen up in the NHL and figure out what it takes to be a pro then spin their tires in a league where theyre a top player with out trying.

It is different from Baseball in that there is not anywhere near the same type of developmental structure. There is also not the ability to trade your best player for futures that will most likely turn into something significant. Trading Patrick Kane will not get the return that trading Chris Sale got even though they are players of similar importance.

100% comparable to the NBA in that their overflow league is full of guys who aren't quite good enough and most of the talented players are either ready to go straight away or are broken in coming off the bench with limited time and learning on the job.
- fattybeef

Let me know when a NHL Coach or General Manager agrees and buys your sales pitch.

He was wrong just like he was wrong about the league mandating a vaccine.
- fattybeef

I think there is a balance. There are a lot of first and second round hawk picks that spent plenty of time in the AHL and never developed.


There is no set formula. Alex DeBrincat is a perfect example.

The Red Wings were touted as being great at leaving guys in the AHL to "develop" for 2-3 years. How is that working out for them? Been a bottom feeder for a while.

I don't think it is time to bring up Reichel yet. If he continues to dominate the AHL for half the season then yes look at bringing him up.

It meant - "Stan you f$cking idiot, I have had enough of playing with Rundblad, Joki and Bovqist. Get me outta here"
- RickJ

Quite possible.

What did you think Duncan Keith meant when he said “The NHL isn’t a development league?”
- paulr

Anytime a league has many players, there’s going to be plenty of development in their minor leagues. The only sport that has nearly no development league is the NFL.

If you told any NHL scout that the AHL and Juniors were just garbage overflow leagues, I think you’d get laughed at.

What's going on with Tyler Johnson? Goes on Covid protocol last week and I haven't seen a mention since. Is he okay?
- GreenJeans

10 day minimum out if you've been symptomatic, which appears might be the case

True enough. And what about you, isn’t angst a great word?

And I’m pretty sure the goalposts move just as Parkey kicks the ball.
- paulr

I almost typed I've never used the word angst before today, though I'm pretty sure I felt it here

He was wrong just like he was wrong about the league mandating a vaccine.
- fattybeef

Damn, streak broken, think we went almost a day and a half without a vax post

Yup. They should have signed Marcel Hossa.
- Rota's Rooter

Now there's the post of the day

How has Bovquist played for CBJ this year so far?

Reports out that Ducks GM Bob Murray was placed today on administrative leave for alleged professional misconduct. Independent investigation ongoing.

How has Bovquist played for CBJ this year so far?
- glennjpawlak22

He's only played 5 games this year (lower body injury). No points, but I've not been able to see him play at all. He was getting 2nd pair type minutes (17-18 mins per night). It sounds like he is going to have to fight his way back into the lineup since they are playing pretty well.

Reports out that Ducks GM Bob Murray was placed today on administrative leave for alleged professional misconduct. Independent investigation ongoing.
- Theo Fox

I can't imagine that these kind of issues are limited to hockey. Maybe not as egregious as the Blackhawks situation, but likely things quite bad in and of themselves. I would guess that we hear more and more about them in the next few years.

Reports out that Ducks GM Bob Murray was placed today on administrative leave for alleged professional misconduct. Independent investigation ongoing.
- Theo Fox

Not good. As much as the Hawks are being raked under the coals (and rightfully so) the issue is bigger than one team. I have no idea what happened with Murray, but I would expect that teams will be scrutinizing their situations to get ahead of any potentially bad situations.

I can't imagine that these kind of issues are limited to hockey. Maybe not as egregious as the Blackhawks situation, but likely things quite bad in and of themselves. I would guess that we hear more and more about them in the next few years.
- Chunk

Interesting take with zero facts, I guess maybe its more egregious also?

Interesting take with zero facts, I guess maybe its worse also
- vabeachbear

I qualified it with maybe. I have no idea either way. I was trying to take a more positive line in hoping that would be the worst of things. No implication meant.

Reports out that Ducks GM Bob Murray was placed today on administrative leave for alleged professional misconduct. Independent investigation ongoing.
- Theo Fox

According to a report from Frank Seravelli, the decision to put Murray on administrative leave was a based on a "recommendation made from their initial findings." I assume "their" refers to the Ducks.

Quite possible.
- paulr

In this connection, I saw Forsling play for FLA last night on TV. Does a credible job. Add him to the list of guys that should have never been rushed up to play in the NHL.

I can't imagine that these kind of issues are limited to hockey. Maybe not as egregious as the Blackhawks situation, but likely things quite bad in and of themselves. I would guess that we hear more and more about them in the next few years.
- Chunk

Imagine if public schools/teachers ever was properly investigated

In regards to kane and Toews. Neither will be going anywhere. They are generational talent and Blackhawks for life. Unless they specifically ask or Management brings to their attention a deal for them to play elsewhere because the team is maybe not going anywhere and maybe Kane and Toews wanna win a cup once more before they ride off into the sunset in their careers they are most likely hawks for careers. I get tired of seeing posts on here related to them being traded. It's annoying and not fair to fans or them. They are not the issues for the teams failures. Kane was out for multiple games due to Covid and we saw what that did to the team. Toews is coming back from a year away and is still getting his footing. Toews will turn it around and I do see this team turning the corner on the standings. There is way too much talent to be this bad. JC had the wrong system for the hawks and they just couldn't buy into his system. He isn't a bad coach, just isn't the coach for the blackhawks. He probably needs to find a team that is willing, young, and has a bunch of guys that are open and willing to handle the dump n chase and so forth. I think for the hawks to be successful they need to relax and go back to playing their comfort game and that began with the game against Nashville, and if it weren't for Soros, we would have netted 5 or 6 goals. I think the headcoach job is Derek King to lose. If he excel and shows that he can take the talent he has here and transition these players which a lot of these players he has coached for years in the AHL, so he is very familiar with them, therefore who better to have then someone who knows them from when they were drafted and acquired to when they were sent up to the NHL. He is going to know who is ready for the show more than anyone else. So I think Kyle Davidson make the right move in hiring him for the Interim Coach for now to see what he is made of. We are going to see a lot of various players come and go from the AHL over the next several weeks. And I wouldn't be surprised if we see our ole everyones favorite hater NYlavender soon based on what Derek saw over the early weeks of the AHL Season. Just because we started off 1-9-2 doesnt mean the season is over. The Cardinals were basically out of the playoffs at the beginning of August and went on a Record 17 game win streak and snuck in and kept pace with the 107 win Dodgers in extras in the wild card. Anything is possible! The blackhawks went on a tear of a win streak several years ago too. We have an uphill battle, but a lot of teams do currently, and its still early. We are only 16% into the season for christ sake. Theirs tons of hockey to play and we are at rock bottom, the only thing that can happen is we go up from here. Guys are going to click. We had a coach that had the wrong system for our team.

I qualified it with maybe. I have no idea either way. I was trying to take a more positive line in hoping that would be the worst of things. No implication meant.
- Chunk

Ya, sorry, really didn't mean it towards you, just in general after the previous weeks of posts, reread what I wrote, it sounded like i was.

In regards to kane and Toews. Neither will be going anywhere. They are generational talent and Blackhawks for life. Unless they specifically ask or Management brings to their attention a deal for them to play elsewhere because the team is maybe not going anywhere and maybe Kane and Toews wanna win a cup once more before they ride off into the sunset in their careers they are most likely hawks for careers. I get tired of seeing posts on here related to them being traded. It's annoying and not fair to fans or them. They are not the issues for the teams failures. Kane was out for multiple games due to Covid and we saw what that did to the team. Toews is coming back from a year away and is still getting his footing. Toews will turn it around and I do see this team turning the corner on the standings. There is way too much talent to be this bad. JC had the wrong system for the hawks and they just couldn't buy into his system. He isn't a bad coach, just isn't the coach for the blackhawks. He probably needs to find a team that is willing, young, and has a bunch of guys that are open and willing to handle the dump n chase and so forth. I think for the hawks to be successful they need to relax and go back to playing their comfort game and that began with the game against Nashville, and if it weren't for Soros, we would have netted 5 or 6 goals. I think the headcoach job is Derek King to lose. If he excel and shows that he can take the talent he has here and transition these players which a lot of these players he has coached for years in the AHL, so he is very familiar with them, therefore who better to have then someone who knows them from when they were drafted and acquired to when they were sent up to the NHL. He is going to know who is ready for the show more than anyone else. So I think Kyle Davidson make the right move in hiring him for the Interim Coach for now to see what he is made of. We are going to see a lot of various players come and go from the AHL over the next several weeks. And I wouldn't be surprised if we see our ole everyones favorite hater NYlavender soon based on what Derek saw over the early weeks of the AHL Season. Just because we started off 1-9-2 doesnt mean the season is over. The Cardinals were basically out of the playoffs at the beginning of August and went on a Record 17 game win streak and snuck in and kept pace with the 107 win Dodgers in extras in the wild card. Anything is possible! The blackhawks went on a tear of a win streak several years ago too. We have an uphill battle, but a lot of teams do currently, and its still early. We are only 16% into the season for christ sake. Theirs tons of hockey to play and we are at rock bottom, the only thing that can happen is we go up from here. Guys are going to click. We had a coach that had the wrong system for our team.
- Hawk4life

And really, who better to talk about being a Hawk for life than this guy? Am I wrong? Are we splitting hairs here?

Playing the Penguins tonight made me think about this - and perhaps some other folks will remember too. The Hawks were playing PIT at the UC and it was Kenny Construction “Hard Hat” night - full size replicas (lighter weight) of actual hard hats. Toews is having a great game and toward the end of the 2nd he scores a hat trick. And you know what happens next… hundreds of red hard hats come raining down onto the ice and 100 level. But wait! The goal is waived off after review. So… during the 3rd Toews scores another goal - and of course, whoever held onto their hard hat the first time now throws it out onto the ice. The ice crew girls and maintenance team earned their pay that night. IIRC the game went to OT and Malkin had the game winner. But seeing all those hard hats raining down onto the ice (not once, but twice) is easily one of my top ten non-playoff moments at the UC for a Hawks game.

And really, who better to talk about being a Hawk for life than this guy? Am I wrong? Are we splitting hairs here?
- Ogilthorpe2

I’m changing my handle to “Hawkifeverythinggoeswellifnotthennotsomuch”

More Aldrich (and if anyone doesn’t like me posting this, tough poop):

https://www.tsn.ca/aldric...le-on-probation-1.1718657