Elliotte Friedman 31 thoughts

[Bloody Brian Burke]

I agree with you, but I think some type of compromise is going to be the only way out of it. The C is never going to agree to give up all claim to those players. This wouldn't be a perfect solution, but some form of compromise would be better for all parties than the status quo.

You're right in how it'll play out, most likely.

What I would like to see is a massive lawsuit brought against the CHL given that these policies are literally taking money from the pockets of young people given that a) They'd be paid a living wage in the AHL/NHL, and b) the CHL is almost at NCAA levels of compensation as it is, and how that isn't illegal in itself is inexplicable.

Fact is, if the CHL says they need to keep the older players because they stand to lose revenue, those same players should be getting a much larger slice of that revenue. This could become a very slippery slope.

 

[dash]

12. McLellan wanted to cancel the players’ day off on Sunday. But that was one of those predetermined CBA-mandated breaks. You can’t remove them simply because the team plays poorly. Instead, he grinded them on Monday. As one player said, “We were told we were going to learn how to backcheck.” You’re not expecting those kinds of practises after Game 80.

30 Thoughts: Concussion case will get worse before better - Sportsnet.ca

 

[forty_three]

5. The decision for Michigan’s Kyle Connor is whether or not to go back to school for his sophomore season. Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff and agent Rich Evans would not comment, but word is the talented forward won’t play for Winnipeg this season, even if he chooses the NHL. The Jets save time on Connor’s contract (including the need to protect him for any possible 2018 expansion draft), while the player can prepare for a possible invitation to the world championship. With the World Cup coming in September, it wouldn’t be a surprise if invitees choose to skip next month’s event. That might open a spot for him.

Ah. That explains the sudden handing out of PTO Contracts for some guys who signed starting next year.

I knew there had to be some logical explanation, but was having a hard time nailing it down.

 

[dash]

22. Does Dennis Wideman to Edmonton make sense to anyone? Peter Chiarelli acquired him and traded him in Boston.

If all the Flames received was a 3rd round draft pick, I'd be happy. Yes, Dennis Wideman has become Brandon Bollig

30 Thoughts: Picking NHL award winners - Sportsnet.ca

 

[jstewismybastardson]

Dale tallon as "co-gm" in vancouver???

 

[forty_three]

9. Montreal media tried to pin down Marc Bergevin on PK Subban, just like they pinned him down on Michel Therrien. Bergevin gave the best answer he could knowing that saying he wasn’t going to do it (and then doing it) is a killer in that market. Before this season, we had a conversation about his philosophy and how it changed. He said one thing he believed very strongly was, “You don’t trade to fill a hole by making another hole.” He talked about the Jack Johnson for Jeff Carter deal and how Los Angeles felt comfortable doing it because they knew what they had in Slava Voynov. That stuck with me watching the 65-minute media conference.

I have no doubt Bergevin wants to make moves but he knows that Subban is his best defenceman by a mile. If he trades Subban for a forward, what’s his blue line going to look like? Is he going to be any better off? He doesn’t have a replacement ready. They like 2015 first-rounder Noah Juulsen, but he’s a couple of years away. I don’t see any chance Bergevin trades Subban unless there is an obvious fix in his absence. Same goes for Max Pacioretty. How do you replace 30-40 goals at $4.5 million? Bergevin, like everyone else in Habs nation, was angry and frustrated by this year. I don’t see a trade out of emotion or anger.

How about three defencemen? Including one named Savard?

11. Can’t help but wonder if, at some point, Bergevin asked Carey Price for his thoughts on what happened. Not only is his goalie the franchise, but Price is calm, thoughtful and really smart about the game. Plus, he had the ability to watch everything unfold from a distance. I could see Bergevin asking for Price’s opinion, without asking him to narc on certain players.

Guess I didn't follow it as closely as I should have. Was there some massive locker room issue?

24. If you need someone to keep a secret, ask Ryan Murray of Columbus. (From last week) “Have you been asked to play for Team Canada?” Reply: “I think that’s supposed to be private,” he said with a smile. You know Morgan Rielly pretty well, correct? “Yes.” What’s one thing people don’t know about him? “I’m not going to answer that one either.”

What's your opinion of Torts? "Interview over, Twatwaffle"

 

[pixburgher66]

11. Can’t help but wonder if, at some point, Bergevin asked Carey Price for his thoughts on what happened. Not only is his goalie the franchise, but Price is calm, thoughtful and really smart about the game. Plus, he had the ability to watch everything unfold from a distance. I could see Bergevin asking for Price’s opinion, without asking him to narc on certain players.

Guess I didn't follow it as closely as I should have. Was there some massive locker room issue?

There continues to be rumors about Patches/Subban drama because Patches is Captain. Amazing...I recall hearing this drama in Pittsburgh too. Then they started winning many games and it's like that drama never existed. Funny.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

11. Can’t help but wonder if, at some point, Bergevin asked Carey Price for his thoughts on what happened. Not only is his goalie the franchise, but Price is calm, thoughtful and really smart about the game. Plus, he had the ability to watch everything unfold from a distance. I could see Bergevin asking for Price’s opinion, without asking him to narc on certain players.

Guess I didn't follow it as closely as I should have.

Then this would have thoroughly confused you



/not that theres anything wrong with it

 

[Comeds]

Who knows? I think the rift(s) is/are either manufactured or greatly exaggerated. Nothing a better season couldn't help.

Only a few years ago that a huge story was run how Gill hated PK and when asked for comment Gill stated PK had dinner with him and his kids the night before.

 

[Dacks]

Who knows? I think the rift(s) is/are either manufactured or greatly exaggerated. Nothing a better season couldn't help.

Only a few years ago that a huge story was run how Gill hated PK and when asked for comment Gill stated PK had dinner with him and his kids the night before.

If you watched my summer soccer team, you'd think there was a huge rift between me and two other players, the way we shout and bicker. In fact, the 3 of us have been friends for 20+ years and are super invested in the team success.

Who knows what goes on in that locker room, but outsiders can easily misinterpret normal and healthy competitive behaviour among teammates as "rifts"... Like you said, the interpretation seems to depend on how the team is doing.

 

[forty_three]

Who knows? I think the rift(s) is/are either manufactured or greatly exaggerated. Nothing a better season couldn't help.

Only a few years ago that a huge story was run how Gill hated PK and when asked for comment Gill stated PK had dinner with him and his kids the night before.

I guess I always leaned towards "manufactured" which is why I kind of dismissed any issues. Then I read this where they suggest that independent adjudicator Carey Price should be consulted for his perspective and I wondered if I'd missed something bigger.

PK is obnoxious, passionate and completely unafraid to speak his mind. I imagine he's annoyed or pissed off everyone in that room at some point. And he is welcome to come and piss off everyone in my team's room any time. As Dacks said "super invested in the team success". Winning cures all ill feelings.

 

[Comeds]

I guess I always leaned towards "manufactured" which is why I kind of dismissed any issues. Then I read this where they suggest that independent adjudicator Carey Price should be consulted for his perspective and I wondered if I'd missed something bigger.

PK is obnoxious, passionate and completely unafraid to speak his mind. I imagine he's annoyed or pissed off everyone in that room at some point. And he is welcome to come and piss off everyone in my team's room any time. As Dacks said "super invested in the team success". Winning cures all ill feelings.

That read to me that Elliotte himself is just wondering if Bergevin consulted with Price for his opinion. I do not think that signifies that anything is more serious. Price is smart and super calm, so its not the worst idea if there is anything significant going on.
Price and PK are close, so I'd be surprised if he had anything bad to say about PK.

Maybe the locker room and team chemistry is a mess, but I think its all an exaggeration. Plus, no one on the team should have been happy during the last 2/3rds of the season.

 

[puckhead]

another good one
30 Thoughts: Remembering greatness - Sportsnet.ca


1. Bob Cole had a great Gordie Howe story. One summer, Mr. Howe went to Newfoundland to visit former teammate Alex Faulkner. The three men spent some time fishing, and, laughing as he told the story, Cole said “the whole island was watching. We couldn’t even go bowling in peace.”
“Who won?” I asked.
Bob looked at me like I was an idiot. “Gordie won (bleeping) everything,” he replied.

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

34. Privately, Jim Benning felt terrible about his comments putting heat on Marc Bergevin. The real loss here is what this will do to his future interviews. Benning is must-listen because he’s so blunt and honest. As an executive, tampering rules make it imperative you watch what you say. But, a secondary story in all of this is what’s happened to radio interviews.

This is a one-time only rant from me in this column, but here it is: My days of doing this stuff are over, except for what I’m contractually-obligated to do. Content aggregators have ruined it for everyone. Few stories get broken on radio because it’s just not set up for that as easily as Twitter or TV or our company websites. We go on radio to have a conversation, to expand on a story, to shoot the breeze, to talk like we would over beers at a bar. It’s spit-balling. But, these content thieves turn it into hard news, which it isn’t. It’s ridiculous and not worth the aggravation.

Elliotte needs to realize that a lot of these "content aggregators" wouldn't be in business if the major media outlets such as the one he works for did a better job of providing content that isn't produced by half-wits for a dumbed-down literati.

Further, while it may be nice to dream of a time when guys in power could go on the airwaves and shoot the shit OTR, it's 2016 and you have to be an absolute fucking moron to not be aware that your words are being monitored and analysed by the people you are speaking to.

It's rather naive of him to blame the "content aggregators" for Benning getting in trouble - the first people who likely heard it and tweeted about it are guys like jstew and mattola. This is what social media is for when it comes to sports. It's the fan's publishing arm, and you don't get the right to criticise that medium - especially when you yourself have benefited from its use perhaps more than anybody else in your industry.

 

[Comeds]

Who knows? I think the rift(s) is/are either manufactured or greatly exaggerated. Nothing a better season couldn't help.

See, I told you goofs there was nothing to see here months ago.

 

[BGDave]

See, I told you goofs there was nothing to see here months ago.

Oh great and mighty Prophet Nostra-comeds:

When will the Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup?



/that was a batting practice fastball, you better hit it out of the park

 

[Comeds]

Oh great and mighty Prophet Nostra-comeds:

When will the Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup?



/that was a batting practice fastball, you better hit it out of the park

When PK's country music album comes out.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

34. Privately, Jim Benning felt terrible about his comments putting heat on Marc Bergevin. The real loss here is what this will do to his future interviews. Benning is must-listen because he’s so blunt and honest. As an executive, tampering rules make it imperative you watch what you say. But, a secondary story in all of this is what’s happened to radio interviews.

This is a one-time only rant from me in this column, but here it is: My days of doing this stuff are over, except for what I’m contractually-obligated to do. Content aggregators have ruined it for everyone. Few stories get broken on radio because it’s just not set up for that as easily as Twitter or TV or our company websites. We go on radio to have a conversation, to expand on a story, to shoot the breeze, to talk like we would over beers at a bar. It’s spit-balling. But, these content thieves turn it into hard news, which it isn’t. It’s ridiculous and not worth the aggravation.

Elliotte needs to realize that a lot of these "content aggregators" wouldn't be in business if the major media outlets such as the one he works for did a better job of providing content that isn't produced by half-wits for a dumbed-down literati.

Further, while it may be nice to dream of a time when guys in power could go on the airwaves and shoot the shit OTR, it's 2016 and you have to be an absolute fucking moron to not be aware that your words are being monitored and analysed by the people you are speaking to.

It's rather naive of him to blame the "content aggregators" for Benning getting in trouble - the first people who likely heard it and tweeted about it are guys like jstew and mattola. This is what social media is for when it comes to sports. It's the fan's publishing arm, and you don't get the right to criticise that medium - especially when you yourself have benefited from its use perhaps more than anybody else in your industry.

what is he talking about lol ... is he blaming the radio guys for asking Jim the question or regular joe blows like me who passed it on ??? ridonk!

i find it hilarious because in the past I have tweeted stuff taking shots at his co-workers and included elliotte in the tweet and he has ended up dm'ing me that what i sent out was funny ... and Im talking multiple times lol

 

[dash]

Man, thieves is a pretty strong word, Elliotte might regret using it.

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

what is he talking about lol ... is he blaming the radio guys for asking Jim the question or regular joe blows like me who passed it on ??? ridonk!

i find it hilarious because in the past I have tweeted stuff taking shots at his co-workers and included elliotte in the tweet and he has ended up dm'ing me that what i sent out was funny ... and Im talking multiple times lol

Unsurprising given who he works with.

Like I said, it's pretty messed up to be putting any blame or displaying any ill will toward people who are really just fans with a higher-than-average interest in the sport and their team. Without those fans, Friedman isn't being paid 6 or 7 figures to talk about a sport he loves all day.