MadDog2020 Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 4 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said: MD2020...I think like with many things, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Of course there's no guarantee that Stamkos' situation isn't and won't become a distraction. But I do think that the media is quick to blow things up to be more than they are...more than ever, they're all on the prowl for something to report. I do think players are more resilient than they're given credit for...that's what I meant by the "big boys" reference. For sure. The media is always looking for something, and they do blow things up. But like I said- some of this is on Stamkos himself with the Twitter stuff and talking about it to the media. That creates a problem where there doesn't need to be one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 28 minutes ago, MadDog2020 said: It's going to be though. Do you honestly think these guys wanna be asked questions every day about this? Because that's what's gonna happen from now until April unless he resigns or gets moved. It becomes annoying and repetitive, and it becomes a distraction. They can try and block it out as best they can, but as I said, they are still human. We'll see how they continue to play. Tampa is a very good team that is underachieving right now. If they continue to underachieve while staying relatively healthy, you can bet your bottom dollar that the Stamkos situation is part of the reason why. It's one minute out of their day. 'Well, you'll have to talk to Steven about that. Obviously we'd all like for him to stay but it's his decision and what he thinks is best for him." Unless you know a profesisonal athlete personally, almost all of your perception of an athlete's mental state is filtered through the media. It's like the classic baseball 'he can't play in New York' narrative that they talk about with the Yankees. Yeah, the Yankees have signed some guys who ultimately didn't like playing there and didn't perform well, but now it's always this bogeyman with players they're interested in - 'Well, can he handle New York?' Leaving aside the fact that the Yankees have probably signed more free agents than any other team, free agents are almost always older players on the downside of their careers, and some of them are going to blow up and be terrible. The media wants to give themselves and the fans credit for making life hard on these athletes. Perhaps it has rattled some guys. Likewise with something like this - maybe some guys are affected, maybe they're not, but I tend not to engage in this sort of speculation about locker room chemistry and such because there've been teams where the locker room was divided and they won, and teams who've all gotten along who have lost. I can't bet my bottom dollar on something that's totally intangible. Tampa shot the lights out last season, they're no longer doing so. At least Bishop seems immune to the Stamkos stormcloud. They are definitely playing worse this year, but ascribing things to media narratives won't be something I engage in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 22 minutes ago, MadDog2020 said: For sure. The media is always looking for something, and they do blow things up. But like I said- some of this is on Stamkos himself with the Twitter stuff and talking about it to the media. That creates a problem where there doesn't need to be one. The funny thing is, with there being more "distractions" now than ever, today's player is probably better equipped to deal with them than many of their predecessors. As far as a guy in Stamkos' situation goes, the only thing that he can say that will minimize the chatter is something along the lines of "I'm focused on the next game and this season, I'm not discussing what happens after the season's over." Give the media nothing. Both the media and the fans will pick apart every quote (we saw this with Parise), so might as well just play, say as little as possible about the future, and not give anyone anything to run with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SterioDesign Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 it's not even about the media blowing the thing up. You're sitting a room, trying to win games and get better as a team and get to the ultimate goal which is winning the cup. You have a leader like Stamkos in the room that you're looking up to and know he can get you to that point, he's a top guy in the league that youre fortunate enough to have on your side. You're all brothers in that room. And you KNOW he wants to leave as soon he has a chance, it means all he cares about is him winning not you guys winning. That's gonna impact YOUR chance to win a cup and succeed to lose that guy for nothing if it gets there. And it's making it hard to get behind him from now on. Of course its business and all but those guys are humans. They may "understand" the business aspect but there's no way you don't feel cheated there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 Torts healthy scratched Johansen tonight. Let the trade speculation begin... http://m.thn.com/blog/top-perfect-landing-spots-for-a-ryan-johansen-trade/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecoffeecake Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 6 hours ago, Stan Fischler's Beard said: Ottawa is the capital of Canada, Americans should know where it is. When i was a substitute teacher a number of years ago, I would ask my students a similar question. I agree that Americans should know where it is, but that doesn't make generalizing Americans as morons acceptable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek21 Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 Lot of games tonight. 11 in total featuring all 4 BONY teams (Devils Isles Rangers Sabres). Buffalo hosts the very disappointing Ducks at the top of the hour. Just why are the Ducks so bad. I take a look: http://newyorkpuck.com/2015/12/17/underachieving-ducks-biggest-disappointment-before-christmas/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 Overwhelming majority, no. Majority of Canadians, yes. When I was in Calgary a few years ago, we told some lovely people that we met that we were from New Jersey. They asked if that was "in Florida". If you can use anecdotes as evidence, I can too. Those are some pretty stupid people then, it doesn't matter where they're from lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshall Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 It makes sense that this circus is a distraction to Stamkos and other guys on the team, but remember all that was written about Chicago and Kane's case? Yeah that didn't become much of a distraction. It's a really dodgy thing to judge and for me falls into the same category as "they're not trying hard enough"-narratives. There's too much evidence that Stamkos isn't the same player he was and unless they can bring back a young Martin St Louis or another elite playmaker to set him up he won't be worth the money he'll get from Tampa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 Kovy was a little pissed... http://nhl.nbcsports.com/2015/12/18/pht-morning-skate-kovalchuk-freaks-out-on-swedish-opponents-during-channel-one-cup-game/?utm_network=facebook&utm_post=4775526&utm_source=FB%20-%20NHL%20on%20NBC%20Sports&utm_tags=srm%5Bhockey%2Carticle%5D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 Maybe he was cheap-shotted by one of those guys...but he's done a fair amount to make himself not look all that good since "retiring". And I'm sure some people look at him and think "He's Russian, figures." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek21 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Welcome aboard our newest contributor coffeecake. http://newyorkpuck.com/2015/12/18/hello-new-york-puck/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek21 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 If Stamkos wasn't Canadian, it probably wouldn't be as much of a distraction. Since he is, you have the Canadian media which he has to deal with. Many who have him leaving Tampa for Toronto because it makes sense. A Canadian star comes home to save the good old boys club that can't win never less make the postseason. Shanahan is running it with Lou. Still an odd couple. But Babcock is there too. They need Stamkos. It doesn't matter what his statistics are. He will get paid top dollar by the Maple Leafs because everything that is hockey centers around Toronto. The passion that unites us all. And the Bolts can't match what they'll offer. They have to lock up other players (Kucherov, Hedman soon, Bishop again). I can't say for certain if it's a distraction in the Tampa room. They have not been healthy until now. The Triplets are back. Maybe for Stamkos it is. But he is the captain. I have to think once the game starts, there isn't a thought in his mind outside of doing whatever he can to help his team win. They made the Stanley Cup Final last year. That should be at the top before any big money which awaits next summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglejelly Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Well, the rangers game was rather enjoyable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Rags lose again. [emoji23] Atta way 'Peg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshall Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Next 4 NYR games aren't walks in the park either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derlique Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 I don't want NYR to miss since they'll get their first back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek21 Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 I didn't watch. Guess I didn't miss much. They got issues. New Post: Blueshirts struggles continue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 Bahahahaha the Queen got hooked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshall Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 This Rangers regression is amazing to watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 9 hours ago, Marshall said: This Rangers regression is amazing to watch. 14 hours ago, MadDog2020 said: Bahahahaha the Queen got hooked. Lundqvist has an .889 save in his last 11 GP. That's almost as bad as it can get, when the 18th-ranked qualifier is at .920 on the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 My guess is the Rangers miss Dan Girardi - things should get better once he's back there to stabilize the defense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 My guess is the Rangers miss Dan Girardi - things should get better once he's back there to stabilize the defense. They weren't that hot with Girardi... Rag fans want him Salvadored lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Eco Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 Yeah I've heard nothing but bad reviews on Girardi lately. Saw a lot of guys saying that he should've been put on waivers along with Stoll. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 Talbot suspended two games for the hit on Tlusty yesterday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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