2022-2023 NHL Regular Season Thread

[Troy McClure]

But if you watch the Jets, they’re perfectly playing a passive shell shape. Bowness finally got through to them.

[Jason]

[The Frugal Gourmet]

I don't know what kind of mutiny is going on there, but I like it.

[ToddM]

I'm starting to think Tanner Jeannot might not really have been worth five draft picks.

[The Frugal Gourmet]

Jeannot I wonder that as well.

[slaps]

If captainmike isn't dead, this clip might have killed him:

[Knives Out]

“Don’t read lips, kids.” - Don Cherry

[B Kat]

Was just thinking about old Grapes. It's almost like he never existed on CBC.

[Troy McClure]

I like a lot of these creative warmup jerseys, but this one is ugly. It's a Devils logo pasted over some jumbled modern art.

[Jason]

[slaps]

I was listening to a podcast this morning and they referred to Arizona as less of a hockey team and more of a shell corporation for housing bad contracts. Also how embarrassing the franchise is to the NHL given their salary structure.

One day I would love to know what the deal is with Bettman. Is it just being stubborn? Is there some other deep-seated reason to try and keep this trainwreck of a franchise where it is?

[Jason]

[Knives Out]

Oopsalamoondio.

[B Kat]

Our 1 chance to root for the Jets too. But at the end of the 3rd it was go regulation.

[Jason]

[ToddM]

In all fairness, I'd trust an app to make better hockey decisions than most NHL GMs.

[ScubaSteve]

ChatGPT could definitely draft better than the Stars

[Knives Out]

Time for Klinger to step up.

[ScubaSteve]

He’s faking so he doesn’t have to wear the gay pride jersey

[Knives Out]

“At least Kaprizov hoisted a “Stanley” above his head before he was injured.”

[slaps]

It appears the Pride Night issues are because of Russia.

https://theathletic.com/4294478/2023/03 ... explainer/

In particular, this issue has arisen for teams with prominent Russian players since that country’s anti-gay laws were amended in early December, per the New York Times, to make it “illegal to spread ‘propaganda’ about ‘nontraditional sexual relations’ in all media, including social, advertising and movies.”

Ben Noble, associate professor of Russian politics at University College London, agreed.

“These are legitimate fears,” Noble said. “‘If you put on a Pride jersey, then there is uncertainty regarding how this would be interpreted by law enforcement in Russia — and that’s a risk. The authorities have the power to enforce this and other legislation selectively. It’s up to them to decide whom they go after.

“Could it be that certain Russian players are using this legislation as an excuse not to do things that conflict with their own personal values — that they may simply not want to put on a Pride jersey? Perhaps. But I don’t think legitimate fears regarding the impact of the ‘LGBT propaganda’ legislation should be disregarded.”

Noble said the amended law in question is part of a bigger campaign by Putin aimed at so-called “traditional values,” which attempts to show how Russian culture is different from the “liberal West.”

“The language of the legislation is so vague. What does ‘LGBT propaganda’ even mean?” he said. “This is a classic case of the political leadership in Russia consciously using ambiguous language to have a broader chilling effect.”

[The Frugal Gourmet]

It's just pure speculation though.

I definitely thought about that when he did it, but none of the other Russian players really gave a *poo poo*.

[Troy McClure]

My suspicion is this story got published because the NHL wanted to give this explanation without directly saying so.

[ScubaSteve]

I would love to make a joke here about Gurianov not scoring in protest but hasn’t he scored since getting traded?

[Troy McClure]

Yeah. He has a goal and an assist in six games with them.

[slaps]

It's just pure speculation though.

I definitely thought about that when he did it, but none of the other Russian players really gave a *poo poo*.

It’s speculation but the law is new and it tracks. Lazerus is a pretty good reporter too, so I tend to think he’s on to something.

[Math]

Benching his top players is something that Bowness never dared to do one single time during his tenure in Dallas even when they were [insert Lites' slur here]

[slaps]

He might have hurt Suter’s feelings.

[Troy McClure]

Winnipeg is in a full on collapse like the one season Hitch came back here, but Winnipeg should still make the playoffs. The Flames don’t want it, and Nashville probably can’t keep up the pace needed to do it.

[Math]

Yeah I think it's pretty settled in the West. I'd say Winnipeg is back to normal after having strongly overperformed thank to the unreal Morrissey, Hellebuyck, Connor, Scheifele. Hellboy has become quite ordinary, Dubois is injured, the fair-weather coach Bowness is entering the storm; the return of the boomerang, not to mention that most of these guys wants out.

I'm still not dismissing the Preds yet, they are doing good even with the loss of Ekholm, El Niño, and the injuries of Johansen and Forsberg. Saros is a damn good goalie that can steal games, with Lankinen being decent too.

The last WC spot will be between those two I guess.