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Around the NHL 2019-20


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18 hours ago, That Aud Smell said:

It's a little sad and even maybe pitiable how things ended for Grapes.

I generally enjoyed him.

And, I mean, it's no mystery that he harboured xenophobic feelings for a whole variety of non-white, non-Anglo Canadians. I always likened him to everyone's "crazy Uncle Donny." He's over there in the recliner. He's a little drunk. He's often full of sh1t. He's funny. He's got some backwards ways of thinking about things, talking about things. He's got all kinds of stories. He's got a good heart.

Years ago I really enjoyed him.  For the last 10 or 20 my reaction has been more like, what in the heck is this guy even talking about?  He's been so far out there it hasn't been funny to me for years.

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1 hour ago, Doohickie said:

Years ago I really enjoyed him.  For the last 10 or 20 my reaction has been more like, what in the heck is this guy even talking about?  He's been so far out there it hasn't been funny to me for years.

Same.  I recall him being brash, but kept it about hockey. Or at least the more physical elements of hockey.   And I enjoyed it.  But about 10-15 years ago his commentary expanded to non hockey subjects and he slowly turned into a caricature of what he was, like he started cultivating a more extreme version of himself.  And I quickly lost interest.

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2 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

Yeah, he was kind of like a more abrasive Mickey Redmond who never wanted to admit the game was evolving.  (I lived in Detroit for a while and enjoyed Mickey's color commentary.  He held similar views about "old time hockey" but wasn't as over the top as Cherry.)

One thing Grapes was consistent about over the years, he did not like the inclusion of non North American players.  I remember him complaining many times about “good Canadian boys” losing jobs in “our game”.

I guess he carried that mindset over to non-hockey as well.

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Yeah, Redmond might have felt the same at one point, but I lived in Detroit when The Russian Five were playing there, and there was no denying they were a superb unit.  If he didn't like non-Canadian players, Redmond was smart enough to keep quiet about it and extol the virtues of they highly skilled Russians.  They also had some young kid playing D named Nick Lidstrom.  If Redmond had been anti-Eurotrash, he wouldn't have lasted in the booth with the Wings.

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1 hour ago, bunomatic said:

In the new NHL players 30 or over are a fools game. 

Lord no to Ladd.

I'm mostly on board with this. The one thing I'd say to flesh it out a bit more is if you have a truly elite player, you're probably pretty safe. Teams get into trouble with the good-but-not-great Ladds and Okposos of the world. 

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1 minute ago, TrueBlueGED said:

I'm mostly on board with this. The one thing I'd say to flesh it out a bit more is if you have a truly elite player, you're probably pretty safe. Teams get into trouble with the good-but-not-great Ladds and Okposos of the world. 

Smart guys who know how to let the puck do the work for them.

You don’t have to be great, but you have to be good and you have to take care of your body, on and off the ice.

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8 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Smart guys who know how to let the puck do the work for them.

You don’t have to be great, but you have to be good and you have to take care of your body, on and off the ice.

I just think it's narrower than that. How many merely good players have been worth their UFA contracts well into their 30s?

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27 minutes ago, TrueBlueGED said:

I just think it's narrower than that. How many merely good players have been worth their UFA contracts well into their 30s?

Not many. Don’t think we’re too far apart on this one.

I’m more talking about the types of players that age well, as opposed to concentrating specifically on contracts or stature.

I’m thinking of guys like Teppo and James Patrick, as opposed to say Mike Peca or Peter Forsberg.

 

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1 hour ago, dudacek said:

Not many. Don’t think we’re too far apart on this one.

I’m more talking about the types of players that age well, as opposed to concentrating specifically on contracts or stature.

I’m thinking of guys like Teppo and James Patrick, as opposed to say Mike Peca or Peter Forsberg.

 

Forsberg?

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