Hard in the Corner

Since you haven't been living under a rock, I won't explain to you that there have been weekly protests during the National Anthem in the NFL, MLB and NBA. You know this. Unfortunately, it seems like many people don't understand why, and for that reason, they don't like it. OK, let's go... Colin Kaepernick first sat during the National anthem in 2016, as a peaceful protest against the systematic abuse of power by police officers against African Americans.  That's great, I'm all about that.  Yeah, but what about the troops? That's disrespectful to the military. I'd like to see him take a knee while he's being robbed, guess what though, he'll call the cops. Maybe if black people would quit being criminals... Wow, what a great point. The national anthem and flag absolutely represents the men and women who selflessly serve to protect the US against evils all around the world. However, it's important to remember that the flag...

I have a theory, and that theory is that Lou Lamoriello is a terrible GM, and has been for some time. Now, I know that isn't radical, especially in Lou's advanced age (he's 74), but I have a suspicion that he has been bad for much longer than the popular opinion would suggest. So, I've taken time to look at his entire GM career. From building the Devils franchise to a consistent powerhouse, to not tendering a qualifying offer to Antoine Bibeau. What I have found is basically a guy who excelled in a very particular aspect of the job and had to, in order to make up for serious failings. Lou Lamoriello joined the Devils in 1987 after the NHL draft. Over the course of the next few years, a pattern would evolve. Firstly, you don't want Lamoriello anywhere near your draft. Of all 29 of his 1st round picks, only 10 have had any level of NHL success. The majority of those have spent minimal time with the Devils before being traded to another team. You see, here's th...

What’s so great about Steven Stamkos? June 30, 2017 Leave a comment Edit I’m curious…what is so great about Steven Stamkos? Why does every GM want him? Why does every player want to be him? Why is Matt Martin’s wife so hot? I’ve got a lot of questions. We all know Steven Stamkos generates shots, he scores a metric shit load of goals and his points per game (PPG) is indicative of the star we know he is. So what’s the point of this then? Well, Steven Stamkos, like a few other NHL superstars, spends about half of his career on the DL. Over his career, Stamkos has missed 118 games, which is nothing compared to Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Joffrey Lupul or Sidney Crosby. So, how much value is lost when a super star player misses a bunch of games, and for fun, can they reasonably be replaced by another player? Steven Stamkos So the first guy to look at is Steven Stamkos. Dollars per point (2016-2017) – $4,250,000 This is an insane stat. This past season, Tampa Bay had...

The NHL is a league known for being old as shit and thinking old as shit. Grit, heart, Mark Messier and going 'hard in the corner' matter most. There has only recent been a league-wide shift towards favoring athletes who know how to play hockey and away from guys that know how to tough. That shift has seen the league - or at least people that follow the league - to identify a younger 'prime' for players than previously thought. Of course it isn't true of everyone, but generally speaking a player will peak between the ages 22-25, because of course. Who wasn't at their best in their early twenties? After that it's all tv dinners and family reunions, fuck. So, I want to look at some of the worst active player contracts in the league. Counting down to #1, the shitty award...I guess.Here goes: Jonathan Toews (also Anze Kopitar, but whatever) 8 years, $84 million (ends 2022-23) I am not going to pretend that Jonathan Toews is not an elite player. He is,...

John Scott is an asshole...bold, I know. After all, this is the guy that stole everyone's hearts and made the NHL All-star game watchable for the first time in 20 years. But guess what? He's a dick. The lumbering fuckweasel is making the headlines for some comments about PK Subban. Scott called Subban a 'piece of garbage.' He isn't, of course, but John Scott is. Also, he's one of the biggest pieces of garbage in the league. What a dick. This guy, somehow, played almost 300 games in the NHL and put up a whopping 11 points. That's a stat that means he was there for something else. Well, seeing as he can't skate, pass or shoot the puck, he must be tough. Tough is as tough does. Jesus. 544 PIMs. Nice work John, you're a credit to your team. This guy was suspended for trying to kill Loui Eriksson, and Tim Jackman. Oh, and he jumped Phil Kessel....yeah. Phil Kessel has more talent than Scott's entire family tree could hope for combined....

Done round one, and we actually get some time before the next begins. That's nice. Or irrelevant, if your team was one of the 1st rounds losers. So what went wrong... Boston Bruins Really, it's about time for the Bruins to be taking this turn. Chara is old and slow , Rask is one the wrong side of his prime, Bergeron can't carry a team on his own and neither can Marchand when he isn't playing like a rat. The rest of the team might be better at home playing in the AHL playoffs, where most of them spent time this year or last. Really, it's just time for Boston to hit this stage. So I don't know that anything went wrong in terms of playoff performance, but short-term, they've hit their wall. Columbus Blue Jackets They have a terrible coach and were a statistical anomaly all year. Goaltending averaged out, shooting % averaged out, and it turns out, like many assumed, they aren't that good of a team. Big surprise to the 5th line though.  Tor...

The NHL has announced Adidas will be taking over jerseys for the 2017-2018 season. That means a few things for the league... First off, there will be no alternate jerseys for the first season. I get that, new jerseys mean some potential redesigns and they don't want the consumer to have too many new jerseys to choose from. There will be plenty of time for that in the following years. But this also means that some NHL teams have an opportunity to mulligan what they've currently got going on. New color, new stripe, new logo, heck, why not a new name. So here is a look ahead at some 2017-2018 NHL teams.....rebranded. 1. Chicago Stanley Cup Champions This is basically just done out of pure laziness. Why bother having to say the Chicago Blackhawks, Stanley Cup Champions. Just cut the shit and get down to business, I don't have all day.  2. Las Vegas Golden Showers This is so stupid. What are you doing putting another hockey team in the desert? Did Phoenix Ar...