A Great Game of NHL 18

I played this game of NHL 18 the other night - and it was an absolute classic. I went into Montreal and took out the first place Habs while spending most of the game short handed.

Enjoy the Auston Matthews show. I'll periodically update things on my franchise on here.

Mike Keenan

Somehow I landed on this old Deadspin post about Mike Keenan by Jeremy Roenick. It definitely belongs on this blog. It's a great read. 

I fell asleep this afternoon watching a Mike Keenan documentary on YouTube. Three cheers for the hardass coach. 

Auston Matthews is rated 87 overall in NHL '18

So I definitely think I am buying NHL 18. There is some discussion on Auston Matthews' rating of 87 overall in the game that will release September 15th, 2017. 

Here are more details:

Connor McDavid is not only the cover athlete; but the top rated player in the entire game at 93 overall. I will talk a lot about my franchise or 'Be a GM' play on this blog after I buy the game. I am 95% set on being the Maple Leafs and 5% chance I'll try out McDavid and the Oilers. 

Projected Opening Night Leafs Lineup?

This is from Editor in Leaf:

Marleau – Matthews – Nylander
Toronto Maple Leafs
JVR – Bozak – Marner
Komarov – Kadri – Brown
Hyman – Moore – Kapanen

Marleau/Matthews/Nylander could be unreal together.

Don Cherry sang the 7th inning stretch at Wrigley yesterday

He may have changed the lyrics, and disappointed #Cubs fans, but Don Cherry made up for it with the #GoHawks at the end. pic.twitter.com/N4pJBbv6XH

— Michael Klinck (@MichaelKlinck) August 19, 2017

Don Cherry sang "take me out to the ballgame" yesterday at Wrigley Field during the seventh inning stretch. It was a nice little surprise to see him at a baseball game and in another mainstream sport. Don Cherry is just the greatest.

Taylor Hall's run of bad luck

Pro Hockey Talk had a nice post up about Taylor Hall's run of bad luck, and I can agree. As much as I loved Taylor Hall; he was maybe my favorite player to ever watch since the inception of this blog - not the best pound for pound - but my personal favorite, every time he would take several steps forward there would seemingly be something that set him back waiting around the corner.

There were scathing takes in Edmonton in his final days there such as this one:

Hall has proven he’s not captain material, Pinder said. “The biggest awkward part of it in Edmonton is that Connor McDavid should be the captain of that hockey club, but Taylor Hall still struts around like he’s king of the jungle. It’s over. If he was a great leader, he’s have a ‘C’ on his chest and this team wouldn’t be in the basement every year… There seems to be an acceptance of poor result and that is not what you see with some leaders. They don’t allow that to happen. They get mad. They call teammates onto the carpet. And that’s not what Hall does. And he’s the guy that has the biggest value. Trade him for a bloody defenceman that knows how to play defence.”

I really hope to see the Devils get Hall to the playoffs. He strikes me as a guy who could have a remarkable run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I am really sad that it didn't work out in Edmonton, and the trade for the blue liner the Oilers got remains one of the most hated I've ever seen go down in sports.

Hall is a likable guy who is still just 25 and forever in front of him. I hope to see him continue to put up big numbers and definitely miss watching him play for the Oilers.

2017-2018 Hart Trophy: Bovada Odds

Per a post today at Pro Hockey Talk, the odds to win the Hart Trophy have been posted, with Connor McDavid coming in as the favorite:

2017 – 2018 – Who will win the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s Most Valuable Player?
Connor McDavid (EDM) 3/2
Sidney Crosby (PIT) 5/2
Auston Matthews (TOR) 17/2
Alex Ovechkin (WAS) 9/1
Patrick Kane (CHI) 14/1
Vladimir Tarasenko (STL) 15/1
Evgeni Malkin (PIT) 16/1
Carey Price (MON) 20/1
John Tavares (NYI) 20/1
Jamie Benn (DAL) 25/1
Steven Stamkos (TB) 25/1
Erik Karlsson (OTT) 33/1
Nikita Kucherov (TB) 33/1
Jack Eichel (BUF) 50/1
Ryan Getzlaf (ANA) 50/1
Patrik Laine (WPG) 50/1
Brad Marchand (BOS) 50/1
Tyler Seguin (DAL) 50/1
Nicklas Backstrom (WAS) 60/1
Brent Burns (SJ) 60/1
Braden Holtby (WAS) 60/1
Phil Kessel (PIT) 60/1
Artemi Panarin (CBJ) 60/1
Joe Pavelski (SJ) 60/1

It is very interesting to note that Auston Matthews checks in at third in the odds.

Connor McDavid Orange Jersey Preorder

Another major want crossed off the list. Although not as big as Auston Matthews. This is a GREAT figure.

Auston Matthews Figure Preorder

My all-time figure want.

Auston Matthews got a cool tattoo of a Lion

Honored @AM34 got a tattoo of me on his arm. Don't tell Carlton 😉 pic.twitter.com/b6RnqkJIpy

— Bailey LA Kings (@BaileyLAKings) June 6, 2017

There was some talk at the beginning of the summer of Auston Matthews getting a tattoo of a Lion on his arm.

The article causes some fear in regards to the mascot of the Los Angeles Kings reaction to Matthews' tattoo:

Do Matthews and Bailey know something the rest of us don't?

Matthews has two years remaining on his entry-level contract that, once performance bonuses were factored in, paid him $3.8 million US, according to capfriendly.com. He will become a restricted free agent following July 1, 2019, which means the Kings could make him an offer, though it will cost them heavily in compensation.

Not to mention the Leafs are likely to lock up the Calder Trophy favourite with a long-term mega-millions deal before it comes to that, so Leafs fans shouldn't be concerned.

Fears are calmed at the end. I need to see Matthews playing in Toronto for years to come. Money talks.

Auston Matthews: Birth of a Phenom

I ran across this video today on YouTube about Auston Matthews. It's truly sick. Love the song.

"No Idea Why" by TV Torso.

Auston Matthews Figure REVEALED

Along with Patrick Laine today on the ID Figures page. This is the big one. This is my all-time want in terms of a sports figure.

More to come as more news breaks when it is available to order. Stay locked on NHL Figures.

Also, it was Maple Leafs Day on Pro Hockey Talk. They had a big post up about them yesterday.

Reddit User Uses Algorithm to Select Maple Leafs as Favorite Team!

This is just absolutely awesome. God bless reddit.

Here is the link to his algorithm spreadsheet. You must check this out.

Biggest thing I question is giving the Oilers a 1 in Arena?

McDavid's huge contract sets the stage for Auston Matthews' Extension in Toronto

Really good and thorough read here.

No sooner had the ink dried on Connor McDavid’s eight-year, $100-million contract extension than the hockey world’s attention turned to what it all means for the Toronto Maple Leafs and their own resident superstar, Auston Matthews. We’re all kind of funny that way.

Well, the first order of business might be for the Maple Leafs to send McDavid and his agent, Jeff Jackson, a nice fruit basket as a show of appreciation. By basically being a hockey player and accepting less than a 6th man in the NBA gets per season, and not demanding the maximum amount he could have, McDavid basically set the bar just a little lower, and for that the Maple Leafs can be grateful.

But all the hand wringing really isn’t necessary here. A lot of people are overthinking this one. Because the Leafs can essentially right here, right now, put Auston Matthews down for an eight-year, $100 million contract that kicks in for the 2019-20 season and runs through 2026-27. All the heavy lifting has already been done for him by the Oilers and McDavid’s negotiators.

The basic premise is stated at the beginning of the article. Now that the market has been established, you can expect Matthews to sign an 8-year, $100 Million dollar contract with the Leafs two years from now.

That said, you just hope he's as easy of a negotiation as Connor McDavid was for the Oilers. They are after all, different people.

Shayne Corson's Anxiety, Golden Knights construction, McDavid's extension

Here are the hockey links that I found throughout my day on Wednesday. It's going to be a short work week, which is good. I can totally dig that.

• Former Maple Leaf Shayne Corson talks about how panic attacks and anxiety have affected his life and his career. [Toronto Sun]
• The construction of the Las Vegas Golden Knights, and how they weren't built to go out and win. [Deadspin]
• Connor McDavid signs an 8-year, $100 million dollar extension. Here's what the Oilers face on the back end of this deal to build around him. [Deadspin]
• The Maple Leafs extended winger Zach Hyman to a four year deal. [Pension Plan Puppets]
• More reaction to the Mcdavid deal. [Barstool Sports]
• Breaking down the Oilers future of building around Mcdavid now that the big deal is done. [Pro Hockey Talk]

Ice Guardians & Chill

I rented Ice Guardians on Amazon video tonight. Here's my synopsis. 

The underlying tone of this entire documentary; which was really well made, was that this is what these guys had to do to play in the NHL. They were not NHL players without the ability to fight. And at the end of the film we learn, that they would do it all again. 

The NHL has changed today. The death of the enforcer role really happened in 2005 when hockey became more wide-open and all four lines had to be able to score and skate. There was no roster spot really allotted for there to be an enforcer anymore. And now that leaves guys like Sidney Crosby for instance wide open to take shots and get concussions and not to have the room to skate and play freely like Wayne Gretzky and other greats did like Steve Yzerman had with their sidecar enforcer line mates. 

This was a very interesting documentary that covers all aspects of the role of enforcers, every single aspect. It was well worth the rent.

They had an interview with the recently deceased Dave Semenko.


Jay Baruchel is featured a lot in the documentary. Had no idea he loved the Habs:

Keeper League Hockey

First, there's this. I thought it would be good to headline a post. 

Next up, I am trying to string together a keeper hockey league. There are a number of formats to do a fantasy keeper league for NHL. My biggest problem right now is finding 10 other owners, as well as deciding on a format. 

I'm going to run it on the Yahoo platform. I just need to find the horses. It's not like baseball where I know 11 guys I can trust. 

Maple Leaf Gardens

It's the Yankee Stadium of ice hockey. Read about the Maple Leaf Gardens.

Final goal ever scored here was of course by famed tough guy, Bob Probert. 

Patrick Marleau is a Maple Leaf

After a series of July 1st moves that were underwhelming, the Toronto Maple Leafs made a huge splash on July 2nd.

Patrick Marleau was signed by the Maple Leafs today. He's a left-shooting left winger. He has played his entire career in a San Jose Sharks uniform since the 1997-1998 season. Here are his career stats. He's tallied 508 goals and 574 assists. He's played in 177 postseason games with 120 points in those games.

So, the thought is that he played a lot with Brent Burns and that although he's old; he doesn't have as much mileage on him as a typical player of his age. The other analysis of the move and his impact with the Leafs:

Marleau played some with Mikkel Boedker this past season, and he is nothing but speed and rush chances. They had high event success together, another good sign he might fit with the young, fast, go for broke Leafs.

The point of signing a man his age, who still has it but might lose it at any moment, seems to be to provide a temp fill-in for the potentially departing James van Riemsdyk. If van Riemsdyk stays, then the worst that’s happened is that a major upgrade over Zach Hyman has occurred for a few years.

This might seem like a quiet little signing here in July. But come January, February, and March when the Leafs are grinding and jockeying for position back in the NHL playoffs, this will be a signing that many are thankful for.

The contract calls for three years, $6.25 Million in average annual dollars.

McDavid Megadeal: How does it Impact Matthews Future Extension?

Connor McDavid is about to sign an 8-year extension with the Edmonton Oilers, north of $100 million. He deserves every penny. He is by all accounts; the greatest thing ever to happen to hockey. The greatest personality, the greatest talent, and just a perfect ambassador for the sport in Canada while playing for the Oilers.

So the next question to be asked: how does this impact Auston Matthews' future contract extension with the Maple Leafs? One can only hope they can sign him to an 8-year extension. My guess is they'll settle on only five. And Matthews may not be as easy to tie down as McDavid was. He's just a different kid.

So you can pretty much mark it down for this time next year: That’s when the Maple Leafs will likely negotiate a contract extension for Auston Matthews that will probably look a lot like McDavid’s deal. Maybe it’ll be a little less generous; Matthews, as spectacular as he is, hasn’t yet shown himself to be in McDavid’s stratosphere. Then again, Matthews has another season to rise. And given his track record so far, it’d be foolish to suggest he doesn’t have it in him.

Either way, he’s going to be expensive. Which only underlines the opportunity staring the Leafs in the face. They’ve got Matthews and Mitch Marner on entry-level deals for two more seasons. That’s an enticing prospect for a team that took a massive competitive leap this past year. It wasn’t just their six-game, five-overtime playoff series with the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Washington Capitals that suggested as much. From Jan. 1 until the regular season’s end, only two Eastern teams — the Capitals and Islanders — compiled more points than the Leafs.

Basically, it's expected that productive veterans will soon be cut loose for cheaper talent so that the Maple Leafs can get ready to make a big offering to Matthews.