Fantasy Hockey Draft Take 2

[Sparrowhawk]

Originally posted by Pekka
I don't even have an avatar as Chieftain so i don't really care.

I have no opinion.

Kontiki had a similar question as he also doesn't qualify for a avatar and Ming had a reply that he thought Apolyton could make an exception in this case.

Guynemer is correct that it should be short term pain (and embarrassment) to change your avatar to the leading participants choice/design but I think we had agreed the change would be for the duration of the playoffs.

/me

[Asher]

Originally posted by Tingkai
Win or lose, everyone pays attention to the Leafs.

Toronto has such a high percentage of the Canadian population that it gets an insane amount of media coverage.

It's not for their benefit though -- it's a bit embarrassing. At least when Calgary was crap they flew under the radar.

[Asher]

Calgary just scored its third straight powerplay goal and Vancouver keeps taking penalties.

[Tingkai]

The reason the Leafs get coverage is because the Leafs have a long history with tradition and that creates a loyalty throughout the country that the Flames simply cannot match.

There's nothing special about the Flames. They're just a team from Atlanta transplanted to a small city with a tiny group of homers cheering for them when they win and deserting them when they lose. A fly by night team.

Meanwhile, the Leafs are one of the three great Canadian teams (the other being the Canadiens and the Oilers) with fans who know hockey and who stand by the team when the going gets tough.

But don't worry, in a few decades the Flames might have the tradition necessary to join the elite Canadian teams.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Tingkai
The reason the Leafs get coverage is because the Leafs have a long history with tradition and that creates a loyalty throughout the country that the Flames simply cannot match.

It has absolutely nothing to do with their history and everything to do with their massive "local" population leading to massive CBC/TSN coverage, which leads to more fans elsewhere as well.

You paint the Leafs as some kind of historic landmark. They're a hockey team, just like any other, but they haven't won a cup in over 40 years. The only reason they haven't faded into obscurity is because there are so many people in Toronto that they can finish last in the NHL and still have sellouts.

And you killed me by calling the Leafs an "elite" team -- elite is determined not by how old they are, but how good they are. The Leafs missed the playoffs, landing them squarely in the "joke" category, not "elite". Their intrasquad game was pathetic, landing them in the "joke" category. Their first game was pathetic, landing them in the "joke" category.

The Leafs are perhaps the most ridiculed team in Canada, and if that's what you define as "elite", it's not in a positive way.

[Tingkai]

The Leafs are not just another team. They are the Leafs. People remember growing up hating them or loving them. The same with the Canadiens. Even here, you don't see people writing about arguing about the Canadiens or the Oilers. No one except you and maybe Flubber post messages about the Flames because no outside of Calgary cares about them.

The Leafs missed the playoffs once in 10 years. So what. Any hockey fan knows that can happen to any team, although it takes a lot of incompetance to miss the playoffs fpr years and years like the Flames did.

[Ninot]

Tingkai, you aren't improving my stereotypical idea of a dumb Leafs fan.

Calgary missed the playoffs throughout the 90's because of a NHL economy that favored teams buying players, like the Leafs did.

Toronto has managed to, with great feats of incompetence, go 40 years now without winning even a Conference championship.

[Tingkai]

The Leafs struggled for decades because of the bastard Ballard who deliberately did not want a winning team and said so.

The reality is that we're only had a chance to compete in the past 15 years.

As for the Flames, it had nothing to do with the NHL economy because how else can you explain the Flames reaching the finals under the old NHL economy.

Calgary missed the playoffs because of bad management and lack of fan support. The team almost when belly up because they couldn't sell tickets. What saved the Flames was the recent oil boom. People in Calgary finally had enough excess cash to pay for tickets, after they had paid for their ski passes, mountain bikes, canoes, climbing equipment, etc. In Calgary, hockey was always an after thought. Most of the people I know there would rather be out in the mountains doing stuff rather than being at home.

And who can blame them.

I'm in Kimberley and in the last two days I've done a mountain hike, gone to a hot spring in a cave, took a logging road across the Selkirks, had great meal in Nelson and stayed at a fantastic B&b. I certainly wouldn't miss that for a Flames game.

[Sparrowhawk]

Originally posted by Tingkai
I'm in Kimberley and in the last two days I've done a mountain hike, gone to a hot spring in a cave, took a logging road across the Selkirks, had great meal in Nelson and stayed at a fantastic B&b. I certainly wouldn't miss that for a Flames game.

A little off topic, but I feel like I should know who you are Tingkai. You lived in my hometown and now you are in my girlfriends hometown. Considering they are like 3 provinces and 1 000 miles apart I am wondering what the odds are!!

Been to the Plazl lately?

back to hockey!

/me

[Asher]

Originally posted by Tingkai
As for the Flames, it had nothing to do with the NHL economy because how else can you explain the Flames reaching the finals under the old NHL economy.

It had everything to do with it. Things didn't change until we landed Kipper (through "bad management", apparently) as well as building a very solid defensive team with a very good coach. Look at the difference Sutter + Kipper made since their arrival.

The economy was a major problem, Calgary couldn't hold onto UFAs at all. This is why Toronto had a geriatric team and Calgary had a young team, Calgary ended up having to take a lot of risks on younger players while Toronto "played it safe" and shelled out big bucks for established, older players.

Calgary missed the playoffs because of bad management and lack of fan support. The team almost when belly up because they couldn't sell tickets. What saved the Flames was the recent oil boom.

That's nonsense, the Flames were "saved" back when the economy actually sucked -- and it was by corporate sponsors.

It turns out that supporting a $35M payroll is difficult considering that the population of the city was only 800,000. I don't think you appreciate the huge advantage Toronto has due to its comparatively massive population and inherent fanbase.

The Leafs are "just another team" with only one exception: they have the worst record of any "established" teams for winning championships. The last time they won a cup the league was a joke with 6 teams.

[Ninot]

Well, the Blackhawks might take exception to that, Asher.

[Asher]

Ah, the blackhawks...another "elite" team.

[Asher]

11.7 Jaguar - Michal Rozsival - D (NYR)

NEW YORK (Ticker) - New York Rangers defenseman Michael Rozsival will undergo right knee surgery and be sidelined for two weeks, the team announced Wednesday.

Rozsival will undergo a procedure to repair a medial meniscus tear. The surgery will be performed by Dr. Andrew Feldman and Dr. Anthony Maddalo at St. Vincent's Hospital on Wednesday afternoon.

Rozsival, 27, tied for the league lead last season with a plus-minus rating of plus-35. He also played in all 82 games and led the Rangers in scoring among defensemen with 30 points.

[Kontiki]

Worse news for me, although it's my own fault for not researching it at the time:

Forward Cory Stillman could miss up to 40 games after having surgery in August to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder.

"It's part of the price you pay for playing so long and not having a very long offseason to deal with these issues," Rutherford said.

[Hot Mustard]

Not to mention Jagr not 100%, etc., etc. I'm waiting for the someone's pick to retire.