DOH 167 – More Hockey Tragedy
September 7th, 2011, 10:29 pm
Mike and Doug start on a solemn note, and talk about the terrible tragedy that befell the Locomotiv KHL team in Russia. It’s hard to take it back to more trivial matters, but the season previews do start this week with the Northeast and Southeast divisions.
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A little more than an hour after I ask in the comments, there it is! As a rare non russian fan that follows the KHL thanks to the wonders of the internet, I’ve been absolutely floored ever since I’ve heard the news. I’m soaking up everything I can find covering this tragedy, and hearing the Dudes’ perspective will put a very bitter vomit inducing cherry on the top of this rotten mess. No offense, Dudes.
None taken. In fact, I think you gave me an idea for a new t-shirt design – “Dudes On Hockey: The bitter vomit-inducing cherry on top of a rotten mess”
Can we get the season underway already so that there’s no more tragedy. By far the worst summer of hockey of my life. I’d rather see the Ducks win the next 5 Cups.
Here I’ll change the subject…
According to multiply reports I’m hearing that Drew Doughty turned down a 9 year – 61.2 Million dollar contract… That’s 6.8M per…
I realize nobody really has any special knowledge of the situation, but what the hell is going on here?
Can Drew Doughty really think he’s worth more than 6.8m at this point in his career? Because he isn’t. 6.8m for 9 years is very generous….
I haven’t heard you guys mention it lately but – do you guys think they’ll get a deal done, or will they be forced to trade him?
There’s not much that could potentially stall the start of what’s billed as a potentially great hockey season in LA than a holdout from their top player. A boy can hope thought right! 😉
Just to expand on what Graveland said, rumor has it that Doughty is looking for a 5 year deal. This means he’ll go to unrestricted free agency as a 27 or 28 year old, when he might be able to cash in even more. Needless to say, the Kings are more interested in wrapping him up for as long as possible.
Also, Lyle Spector is reporting we’ve resigned Kyle Wellwood for 700k.
http://t.co/eXrhzRJ
Now that report is being countered by reports and confirmations he’s actually signed in Winnipeg.
Same dollars. (700k)
Doughty probably wants shorter length, and I’m glad the sharks didn’t sign wellwood. Would rather have a more aggressive/physical player on the 3rd line.
Hey dudes,
I’ve never done a fantasy league before. Do you recommend going somewhere else to learn or just jump into one of your leagues?
I’d jump right in. Draft the players you like the best, set your rosters, and trash talk. That’s basically all there is to it.
Will do. Where do I access the leagues?
Well, I’m one of the few people who is bummed about not keeping Wellwood. I thought he provided a skill that no one except Joe Thornton possessed (puck possession and passing) while we have plenty of guys who like to hit and shoot from anywhere.
Im pretty sure the Kings and Doughty will get things done, but fun to watch the circus from the sidelines. Dean Lombardi gets a lot of deserved credit for his skill in the draft (especially with dmen) but he remains as poor as ever at resigning his own players in a timely fashion.
are there still spots available in the fantasy leagues?
Yes. We will make them available after the next podcast. Listen or check the blog for more info!
Dudes,
Please don’t take this as an “I-told-you-so”, but just to fuel some discussion…
I’ve disagreed with some of the sentiments you’ve both shared about what the third line should be and what’s expected from it. I’ve also tried to focus on what I think DW believes is needed for this team rather than my own opinions.
Interesting quote today from DW that was posted on FTF regarding what’s being expected from the third line.
From FTF – (Wilson also doesn’t see the bottom six serving a solely defensive role next season, explaining that they will be expected to be scoring threats despite the fact Pavelski will not be centering the third line next year and Kyle Wellwood was not retained.
“I think that we have a lot of different ingredients to pick and choose from, things that Todd can work with depending on who we’re playing against and how our team is playing at that moment in time,” Wilson said. “You look at the skill sets of Jamie McGinn, John McCarthy, Tommy Wingels, Benn Ferriero, Brandon Mashinter, Frazer McLaren and Andrew Desjardins, all of them can play different types of games. Obviously penalty killing is important, but we expect some scoring from those third and fourth lines.”)
There’s been much discussion about the third line and what type of player the Sharks should go after. Well it looks pretty clear to me that DW hasn’t moved too far from expecting the third line to score. I think this is why we haven’t seem much movement from DW in directly filling this slot of the third line wing.
You guys have said that the Sharks need to get a typical third line winger with grit and energy… Well it looks like DW wants that AND a guy who can score – something not so easy to come by in the NHL.
Sorry, but saying “we expect some scoring from those third and fourth lines” doesn’t suddenly turn those players into scorers. There is no way this year’s 3rd line even comes close to last year’s in scoring – regardless of what Doug Wilson says he expects.
I think that’s a tough claim when we don’t know who is gonna be on the third line yet. There is a spot open.
And Handzus is already a better scorer than Wellwood. Handzus has a higher career pt per game than Wellwood. There isn’t any denying Wellwoods hands – but that hasn’t translated over to the scoreshert for him. Handzus has outscored him, is better on face-offs, AND plays the PK. Considering how much PK time he gets the higher pts-per-game is magnified.
If we’re gonna compete for the Stanley cup – and not just say we are – having those expectations for whoever fills those roles aren’t unreasonable.
Good point, Tom. I didn’t realize that Handzus was that good of a scorer. I was not a fan of the Handzus signing at first, as I felt his one trait (penalty killing) was good but not elite as I felt he overperformed last year.
Knowing that he can actually score as well is a huge plus. I still think Wellwood would have done wonders with a guy like Ferriero or McGinn, but If Handzus can pot 16-20 goals, then that 3rd line will be more dangerous than I had thought.
Maybe I’m not remembering how last season went very well, but didn’t Joe Pavelski spend a LOT of time on the 3rd line last year?
Just for clarification Patrick – I think your reacting out of a difference in degree rather than theory…
By saying I expect the third line to score, I in no way mean I expect 80+ goals… I ‘d think that would be obvious to anyone… But I am claiming, and I think the Sharks coaches and GM’s have said this clearly that they expect this too – is that 0-10 goals for a third line on this team is unacceptable.
In a perfect scenario, Id love about 40-60 goals… and some timely PO goals when the primary scorers are getting shut down by the opponents or arent getting it done. And as well as that be the utility role players needed from those slots…
Gonna take Zues first overall in the fantasy league based on this ringing endorsement : P