The General Hockey/Devils Question Depot

coffey played with gretzky, nuff said, and orr was the first offensive defense men ever, people didn’t expect anyone to be doing the things he did as a defense man and he was still the best skater on the ice. If he played today he probably would be in the 70 range as well.

The game has certainly evolved since the days of Orr and later Coffey. They were fantastic players, true. They also didn’t get to face defensive schemes like a 1-2-2; d-men in general were not nearly as mobile as they usually are now; and goaltending was largely stand-up/reflex style as opposed to the positionally-based styles we see today. All of that led to more goals then and so fantastically talented players were able to put up ridiculous numbers – even from the back

Of course, the teams Orr and Coffey were on were loaded in their time (Esposito, Bucyk for Boston; Messier, Gretzky, Kurri for Edmonton)

Nope. I can update the timestamp to move it back to the top whenever I wish, which will likely be the first few times it falls off. If the whole thing goes inactive, then I’ll let it slide naturally over time.

Plus, if people Rec it, it’ll stay on top for a while.

That is a lot of words, Alan.

Still, in spite of a lack of “?”, I feel there’s a question in there somewhere, and I’ll answer what I believe is the main concern:

However, I believe your desire to control the flow of a thread may be somewhat misplaced and unrealistic. The institutional purpose of "relevancy," keeping "discussions… organized and on-topic" and content "expect[able]" for the reader do have some merit. I don’t believe it has a great deal of merit, but it does have some merit.

However, your past efforts at enforcing "relevance" – for which, it appears you are the sole arbiter – have been met with derision, scorn, and dissent in the past. Some users have tried (and perhaps failed) to understand why certain discussions are nipped in the bud even while the participants are enjoying the playful, insightful banter which flows from spontaneous discussions.

Completely disagree – I’ve been doing this since 2009 or so and so far it’s gone pretty well. From my standpoint, it hasn’t been a detriment to the site at all. More people than ever read it. Users keep going up. In fact, it’s one of the higher trafficked hockey blogs on SBN. And big, big, big reason why it is where it is now is that the site is so organized. I can see how some may not like the strictness, but I’ve received more compliments about how there’s intelligent discussion on the site and very little drama compared to other blogs. It encourages those active users to actually read what they’re commenting on (which may surprise you, but not everyone does this on many blogs – and I don’t know why!), leading to better users and better discussions. It’s a benefit for new visitors who can read the comments and gain something out of it instead having to parse why there’s a gigantic digression from what they’re commenting on or wonder why someone’s using the comments to bring up an unrelated issue. There’s actually quite a lot of merit to it.

As for the latter part, I’m not sure what banter has been insightful, but I’ll go with it. If there is truly something worth discussing that is a valid point that isn’t covered by a post, then make a FanPost about it. In those cases, it’ll be more than a hastily and poorly written (capitalization, horrendous misspellings) 75-word piece that just asks a simple question. There will be reasons and evidence and points of discussion. Take this FanPost for example. Did the user see anything about mock drafts here? No. (or I should say, not yet) But was it worth writing about? You bet – to the point that it’s actually worth putting more than a few minutes to type it all in and is worth the reader’s time.

Lastly, the whole point of this very post was in response to a suggestion Tom made in the comments a recent FanPost. Now, there is a place to ask simple, short questions about rules, contracts, etc. that isn’t covered anywhere else and isn’t worth a FanPost: here. Perfect if you don’t want to write up a whole FanPost.

And so it is and so it shall continue.

The more regimented format John maintains here is not for everyone. Just as total free-form chaos would not be for everyone.

Regarding your last paragraph and tangential discussions. There is a big difference between a tangent and total irrelevance. A comment about what Doc or Chico said during a game broadcast would not get shut down as quickly as an out of the blue comment or question. Granted John wouldn’t let it go on “forever”, nor should he, but a comment or three about a Chicoism does occur and generally provides comic relief (which was desperately needed in the first half of this past season :-).

Oh and John, there was a “?” I could edit it down to just the final question, but that would come off snarky:

Perhaps you consider it a "public discussion of discipline." I think it’s a stretch to assert any of those but hey, what do I know?

Just remember, nobody will ever agree with everyone, nor will everybody always agree with you. Society would not necessarily be any better if this were true. Like they say, variety is the spice of life, but all things in moderation isn’t a bad one either.

but hey, ’dems the rules.

The only rule I have a major disdain for is the strictness of the gamethread, which you’d think of anything would be looser in what we can talk about

So sayeth Dirk Hoag:

The big question, then, will be when the NHLPA looks at the season ahead, and sees $120 million in new TV money, along with $57 million in beer money as well, will they funnel all that into a higher salary cap figure, or stick to the usual 5%, and give themselves some opportunity to reduce the escrow which is withheld from every player in the league? Considering those two major deals alone, they could justify a cap increase of $3.36 million ($177 million times 57%, divided by 30 teams), or 5.6%. That’s completely separate from the general growth of the game.

Emphasis mine.

Upload it from your computer to an image hosting website.

If I screw around with something in MS Paint for example and save it on my desktop, can I post it in a comment? Do I copy the location from my computer into the "Enter the URL" box?

No. You can only post pictures that you have stored on the internet somewhere, you need to provide an actual URL – not the directory of your hard drive. So you’ll need to upload your picture from your computer to some image hosting website like Photobucket or Flickr or Tinypic or Imageshack or even your own personal space. Just Google “image storage” and you’ll see plenty of free options. The image button will automatically put the “img src” tags for the URL.

To leave it on your PC, you would have to enable web service on your PC and turn it into a web server. There are plenty of image hosting site one can use as elesias says. Turning your PC into a web server opens you up to so many security risks, unless you have a business or something, it isn’t worth it.

Yeah I’ll just open a Flickr account or something. I’m only semi-computer-literate, so this seems like the best option.

If Gregory Campbell commits a questionable hit, does Colin have to suspend him or is that one of those hits that they "let slide?"

I know it was a joke, but the answer is “no.” Colin Campbell is recused from handling issues that deal with his son, and I believe Boston as a whole, due to the obvious conflict of interest. How a person that he presumably appoints and that reports to him sufficiently bypasses the conflict remains to be seen.

Okay, serious question: in overtime (reg. season), if a team takes two minor penalties, it becomes a 5-on-3.

OT in the regular season is played 4-on-4, so there couldn’t be a 5-on-3 situation.

Assuming the 5 4-on-3 expires, does the 5 4th player have a restriction on how quickly he must return to the bench? When does a "too many men" penalty apply?

The player returns to play when the penalty expires, assuming the OT period hasn’t ended, and becomes the legal 4th man on the ice. If there were already four men on the ice before his penalty expired, the team should be penalized for Too Many Men.

Whether he returns to the bench or not is at the discretion of the coach.

If it were a Major Penalty, he must wait until the next stoppage in play after the expiration of his penalty to exit the penalty box, though the OT period is only 5 minutes long and so this would require that the player took the penalty prior to the end of regulation or else he’d just hit the showers early.

Is Zach a big toe? No.
Is Kovy a big toe? No.
Is this a logical answer to your question? No.
Do you need any excuse to fit a Bill Murray movie quote in anywhere in life? No.

I’m honestly not sold on the idea of Zach as the Captain. I know he’s the presumed fan favorite for the position and there’s no questioning his work ethic, but there’s more to being a Captain than on-ice production.

There are different kinds of Captains around the League, and as a fellow “lead by example” kind of guy, I can appreciate that his on-ice ability can be inspiring, but I think, based on the failures of MacLean and Langenbrunner, that this group of guys needs more of an “in your face” guy who isn’t afraid to call people out in the locker room, light fires under people’s behinds and whom the kids will listen to because they respect/admire him. I don’t know for fact that he isn’t that guy because, unfortunately, I’ve never been in the Devils locker-room, but he doesn’t strike me as that kind of guy.

The obvious question, then, is: Who is that guy?

I’m honestly not sure. Colin White perhaps? Marty? Obviously, neither are long-term solutions as they’re both on the downside of their careers, but nothing says they have to be. Both have been to the top of the proverbial mountain and played with the team’s greatest Captain in Stevens and so know what it takes. Guys like Parise and Kovalchuk are natural leaders, but (crosses fingers) once the team is beyond the first or second round of the playoffs they’re as green as Josefson and Fayne.

I realize, of course, that experience isn’t the only way to choose an effective Captain (see: Toews, Jonathan; Crosby, Sidney), but neither should it be overlooked.

If Zach does receive the Captaincy, I think he’ll do a fine job, but I’m not one who assumes, based on my limited (read: non-existent) knowledge of what goes on behind closed doors, that he’s the best choice.

1. Hire a new coach
2. Lou persuades (by any means possible) the new coach to name Parise Captain
3. Knowing he’ll be captain, lock Parise up for 7-8 years (this allows him to know he has a UFA coming before the dreaded 35 year mark, 7 years makes it 33, and if 35+ contracts survive into the next CBA, I doubt it would fall to 33+)

Like elesias said, we don’t know what goes on t=in the room, but if Parise WANTS to be captain, there aren’t many obviously better choices, so use it as the karat that gets him to stay long-term. (And I know I used karat wrong there, but come on, karats are worth a whole lot more than carrots.)

I think he’s jumping ship here. I don’t know how the odds of going to arbitration have become increasingly likely. His injury will not be a long term issue. It’s possible sure, if talks aren’t good. They haven’t begun talking for all we know (last report was Monday).

I think it’s way too early to worry about arbitration. Historically with this organization, players who go to arbitration don’t stick around regardless of who it is.

I also think it’s way to early to worry about Parise staying until it’s closer to the date when RFAs have to be qualified – which escapes me at the moment.

At even strength if your on the ice and your team gets a goal you get a + if the other team scores you get a minus. You can only go up or down at even strength, so 5 on 5 4 on 4 or (rarely) 3 on 3. Powerplays do not affect +/-. I do believe though that if your team scores a shorthanded goal the players on the ice get a + and the players on the powerplay that got scored on get a . I might be wrong on that, but that is basically how +/ works.

Question regarding +/-

If a team gets a short handed goal scored against, does the player who originally got the penalty get a -?

It’s not obvious in the way this is phrased, but I interpret that a delay is allowable under your described scenario and the penalty shot is still taken:

25.7 Timing – If the foul upon which the penalty shot is based occurs
during actual playing time, the penalty shot shall be awarded and
taken immediately in the usual manner notwithstanding any delay
occasioned by a slow whistle by the Referee to allow play to continue
until the attacking side has lost possession of the puck to the
defending side, which delay results in the expiry of the regular playing
time in any period.
The time required for the taking of a penalty shot shall not be
included in the regular playing time or overtime.

Best game ever!

Yeah, NHL.com hasn’t loaded for me on Firefox for a few hours now. Haven’t bothered trying with IE or anything… just went to TSN.ca/nhl.

That’s across the network – not sure why it’s a bad ad.

I guess we now know you’re not a drinker. Chivas is considered one of the best Scotches made. I know this and I hate scotch.

Hopefully Vancouvers coach when he gets fired … (optimism)

Lou had to wait until the world championships were over. Hitchcock was a little busy until just a few days ago.

I think most Devils fans don’t like him because of the league’s petulance regarding the Kovalchuk signing. The “circumenvention” hearings, pushing through addition of a rule to the CBA because the league was caught without an actual age/contract length limit in 2005, the punishment based said hearings (a forfeit third rounder this year, a first rounder to be forfeited at a later date), and taking incredibly long to approve the second contract. Throw in the other general perception about him (he’s supposedly not a hockey guy, he’s the cause for the league’s problems, etc. etc.) and I can see why there’s this dislike for Bettman.

I don’t have any real beef with him outside of the outrageous actions of the league in this past summer, but I really can’t grouse about it nearly a year later.

Not only what John said, but in 95 it was thought that Bettman wanted the Devils to leave and turn into a franchise in Nashville. There is a youtube video about it and how the crowd says something against Bettman. It’s funny because that’s the year that we won the cup, and the Devils seem to have worked out well in New Jersey.

I think most hockey fans in general are not huge Bettman fans and the consensus seems to be that he isn’t a great commish. Nearly leading the league to it’s demise in the mid 2000’s will do that, I suppose.

But yeah as the others have mentioned, the ‘95 relocation rumors and this past summer’s Kovy debacle are the Devils-specific reasons for the disdain. Here’s video evidence of Devils fans’ feelings about Bettman back in ’95 (deserved or not).

Yep, 2 cap hits.

Sort of. If a player signs an ELC at age 18 but doesn’t play more than 10 NHL games, then it slides. As in, the whole three year deal just moves back a season. If it happens at age 19, then it can slide again. Once the player is 20, then the ELC length begins regardless of whether he is in NHL or not. ELCs end with the player going RFA, regardless of where he is at the time.

Now, an ELC is only 3 years if he signs at age 18 through 21. If he signs at age 22 or 23, then it’s a 2 year deal. 24 or older and it’s only one year. Players 25 or older are not subject to ELCs unless they are 25-27 year old players from Europe – they have to go through a one-year deal.

As far as how much a draft pick gets paid, that’s up to the team and the prospect. There is a maximum salary and maximum amount of bonuses, but there’s no wage scale. Generally, higher picks will have an ELC worth closer to the maximum in both than lower ones.

Source: CapGeek.

Just the 1st.

BehindTheNet has already claimed it.

He was league disciplinarian for 13 years; probably too long away from coaching to be able to get back into it successfully. The league has changed a lot.

His odds are slim to none. Also, he’s still working with the NHL – he’s just not doling out inconsistently ruled and sometimes downright stupid disciplinary decisions anymore.

I get MSG and their family over DirecTV. That’s a good non-cable alternative.

But don’t go Dish. They dropped MSG last year.

Here’s the link. It’s a bit of an investment (like $150 range for the year) but i got it when I lived in Austin and will be getting it again when I go back in the fall.

There might be something in a few weeks, then on hiatus until the next season.