Hard in the Corner

Return The NHL is a horrible league. Really, truly, honestly, horrible. It's got a disaster of a leadership group, and they (as I've previously noted) care more about lining the owners pockets with desperate cash grabs, than creating a more fan friendly game that will grow on it's own. So, here's how I fix it for the players, for the fans (and maybe even for the owners). 1. A player's-choice re-draft So what is this? Well, it's likely the one idea on this list that you've never heard before. The basic idea is that players that are unhappy with their current situations can opt-out of their contracts and enter a league wide draft. Now, obviously the superstars are likely going to stay put, they're making good money and their on good teams, unless you're Mark Stone. But what about guys like Jacob Trouba. These are players that have been hamstrung by their RFA status (more on that coming up) and wanted out, only to see their lazy as fuck GM make...

Amongst all the bullshit that Toronto Maple Leafs fans are rambling on about, one question has stuck out to me. Mostly in that, nobody is asking it.. No, it's not whether Jake Gardiner's dog should be kicked, or if Leo Komarov can be both uncle & lover, it's JVR . April 27th was locker clean out day for the Leafs and a few notable players were packing up their stuff for, presumably, the last time. At least the last time as Leafs. One of those players is James van Riemsdyk. This season, James van Riemsdyk was the team's leading goal scorer, had a 7.2 point share and a 55.6% corsi player - in admittedly sheltered starts (62.7% OZs). So, why does he HAVE to go? Well, one reason is his asking price. He will undoubtedly be a 6x6 free agent this summer, and the Leafs have other priorities. Auston Matthews early extension being the most obvious. Matthews will be a minimum $10 million player for the foreseeable future, and his prime , along with Marner and Nyland...

"This blog can fuck itself, for all I care" - Jim Rutherford This time I'm flying blind. I admittedly don't know much about the Penguins. I don't think I do, I won't pretend I do. I know very little about Penguins' GM Jim Rutherford. So, I just assume he stinks - because all GM's stink, to some degree. So, I am going to take a year-by-year look back over Jim Rutherford's entire NHL General Manager career. Rutherford started his hockey career as a goalie in the Red Wings organization. After his retirement as a player, he joined the Whalers, from Hartford, as a General Manager. This guy has 3 Stanley Cups, and I'm about to be completely unfair about the little depth deals he has made over the course of his career. This is the 3rd in a multi-part series "What did _____ ever do?" where I rank the performance of NHL GM's. We take into consideration how the GM chose to handle the NHL Entry draft and any transactions made over t...