2023 NHL Off-Season Thread

[Troy McClure]

That sucks

[slaps]

Hagelin was the perfect bottom six guy. That's too bad.

[slaps]

https://theathletic.com/4819906/2023/08 ... akim-aliu/

Bill Peters needed a moment. The 57-year-old had already acknowledged how difficult addressing the crowd would be on this day.

His lips were curled downward as he stood in silence, sniffling on occasion while fiddling with his sheet of paper and looking away from the people who had gathered to see him. When he resumed speaking, he could barely get out words without clearing his throat. On one occasion, he pounded his chest and apologized as a way to show how hard it truly was to say he was sorry to Akim Aliu, a Black player he coached and to whom he directed racial abuse.

Peters was supposed to come off as genuine and sincere. But the moment was awkward, painful and infuriating.

“I apologize,” Peters said. “I now recognize the impact of my words. I was uneducated in my use of inappropriate language. I take ownership of my actions and regret my choice of words. I failed to create a safe place for Akim and I’m deeply sorry.”

Nearly half an hour before Peters stood in front of the lectern as the new coach of the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes, Aliu revealed on social media that a “current NHL head coach” reached out to him last week on Peters’ behalf to apologize. Thirteen years after Peters’ outburst in an AHL locker room, that was the head coach’s first attempt at reconciliation, Aliu said.

Uneducated? *mama cuddlers*, 13 years ago was 2010, not 1958. You didn't need an education know that calling a black kid the N-word isn't something you should do.

[The Frugal Gourmet]

Never heard of him.

[Troy McClure]

Never heard of him.

He was the Flames coach who called a black minor leaguer the N word and also punched and kneed an NHLer on the bench. He was an NHL coach for several years but had no success, which is why he was immediately fired when this stuff came out. He wasn't one of these coaches forced out other teams were eager to hire the same way they have been with Quenville and Babcock.

[ToddM]

He also blacklisted the player and talked *poo poo* about him to various GMs, long before Aliu ever revealed to anyone that the guy was a prick. Total world-class *pop poo brain*.

[ScubaSteve]

He was the guy with the Wilford Brimley mustache that had a lookalike who sit right behind the bench, right?

[slaps]

No that was Paul MacLean for the Senators.

[Knives Out]

Yeah, Paul MacLean is a cool dude.

[ScubaSteve]

Close enough

[slaps]

Except for the physical abuse and overt racism and being a shitty person, close enough.

[SaintAngerBH]

Sorry. There is zero excuse for using that word in 2010. It means he's a racist and that's really the bottom line for me.

[wonko80]

Yeah, he gave the meaningless apology approach. Not the "I realized I was racist but have addressed it" approach. Suffice to say he doesn't care and only wants a job. Actually pretty shocking a team would think this was okay.

[The Frugal Gourmet]

You know who is actually the nicest guy ever and probably not even racist?

Pete DeBoer.

Just saying.

I mean as a person. Not sure how great a coach he is but he seems ok at that too.

I hope he wins 20 Stanley Cups.

[Math]

An 8-year/$64M contract for Senastors Dman Sanderson. Ok, the kid has potential. Ok, I see the logic of locking another core member. Ok, the cap will increase... But he barely cracked the 30-pt mark last season as a rookie.

Now Heiskanen definitely looks as a bargain.

[Troy McClure]

This deal also signs him up for the entirety of his 20s. With the cap growing at a meager $3-5 million per season rate, $8 million a season will still be a big cap hit later on in his contract.

This isn't so different from Nill signing John Klingberg at the end of his rookie season to a long-term deal, but Nill got Klingberg at a much better discount (even as a percentage of the cap) than what Sanderson got.

[slaps]

He was a #5 overall pick and apparently was excellent for the Senators last year. It’s a gamble but probably a smart one.

The league is moving away, slowly but surely, from overpaying old guys for what they have done. It’s going to paying young guys for what they likely will do. There’s some risk, sure, but I think the Wilson contract is WAY worse.

[Troy McClure]

Mike Babcock's return as a coach isn't even going to make it to training camp. He's been demanding to take players' phones and broadcasting their photos in his office using airplay to go through and see what players are doing. Apparently, he did this same stuff at prior jobs as well.

This is where guys with mega deals and full no move protection need to stand up and say no. A guy like Gudreau should be able to tell Babcock no on behalf of all players.

Alternatively, if you're a player and know this is coming, this is a perfect opportunity to Photoshop Babcock's head into the nastiest porn you can find before going in to meet him.

[Knives Out]

Mike Babycock

[wonko80]

What a surprise, he's still an asshole.

[SaintAngerBH]

Yeah, that's an inexcusable invasion of privacy. If my boss told me to hand over my phone and show him what I'm doing on it, I'd immediately report it to HR.

[Math]

Yeah, that's an inexcusable invasion of privacy. If my boss told me to hand over my phone and show him what I'm doing on it, I'd immediately report it to HR.

Definitely. That's also why I'm sticking not to have a cell phone and be out of any social media except Facebook 2.0 a.k.a. LinkedIn.

[slaps]

Sounds like The Ego That Walks might have gone out to press with this a wee bit early.

[SaintAngerBH]

Yeah, that's an inexcusable invasion of privacy. If my boss told me to hand over my phone and show him what I'm doing on it, I'd immediately report it to HR.

Definitely. That's also why I'm sticking not to have a cell phone and be out of any social media except Facebook 2.0 a.k.a. LinkedIn.

Linkedin is my only social media as well and it's, what I refer to as, the cardboard cutout of me. You can see my professional information and nothing else and I never discuss anything with anyone on it.

Maybe it's a bit on the delusional side, but I like to think I'm pissing off all the people who love snooping on social media and ruining people for stupid things. But, I'm nobody important so likely not haha.

[Troy McClure]

[Knives Out]

Hehehe

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/bioste ... -1.6966412

That's what you get for having ugly wax cartons!

Gatorade forever.

[Troy McClure]

Some hockey media were quick to dismiss the Babcock phone story, but the PA doesn't get on a plane to Columbus if it's total bullshit.

[SaintAngerBH]

Ruh-roh.....

[ToddM]

They could just be taking in the sights of beautiful downtown Columbus. I hear their public library got some new books just the other day.

[Math]