2021 Around The League Thread

[MadDog2020]

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/carey-prices-uncertain-injury-status-complicates-krakens-decision/sn-amp/?__twitter_impression=true

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

I hadn't realized how annoying Parise and Suter had become in Minnesota (SH had alluded to this earlier):

Souhan: Wild wanted both Zach Parise and Ryan Suter gone (yahoo.com)

I've read blurbs about how Zach says being bought out left a sour taste in his mouth, and how he still believes he's a good hockey player, etc.  That's fine and I'm sure it stung, but do these guys realize what a massive commitment was made to them up front?  That their team was willing to put their money where their mouths were, even willing to pay these guys as they approached their FORTIES?  We're not talking about a guy who was instrumental in winning a couple of Cups and then was discarded like worthless trash...Zach, the team won two friggin' playoff series in NINE YEARS while you were there...sure, you and your bud made them relevant, but not much more.  You're clearly not what you were.  You had almost a full decade to at least go on SOME kind of run...not that it's all your fault, but geez, you got paid plenty to play for the Wild and you're still going to get paid plenty more NOT to play for the Wild.  Were they supposed to just keep you around for the next four years, no matter what?  Just like players who become UFAs have the right to go sign with the team of their choice, a team that's willing to take the hit to buy out players who are no longer productive/past their prime have the right to do so.  

Not that I know what it's like to walk in Zach's shoes (or will ever know), but goddamn man, put down that frosty mug of entitlement and maybe wash out that sour taste with a swig of reality juice.  If you were less of a PITA and more of a contributor, you're not given the heave-ho.   

Edited July 19, 2021 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

21 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

That would be a minor miracle. If he brings in one of those guys I will be happy. Two, I’ll be excited. Three, I will be amazed. 

Oh for sure...I guess I've just reached that paradoxical point where though I kinda get that the Devils may not yet want to go too crazy with UFAs and would rather consider making trades (once more of the kids up their values), the fact is that there's a friggin' TON of money to spend (with another big cap hit coming off before next season, in PK).  I know the UFA route is risky, but those are three players who can absolutely help the Devils.  If Fitz makes them all terrific offers and none of them accept, fine...but at least TRY to get in there.  This isn't Lou signing an aging and injury-prone Cammalleri, or a "Wll guess we gotta spend on someone" overpayment that would reek of desperation.  These three all make sense.

And yeah, I'd be happy to settle for just one of them (mostly because it really isn't realistic to expect more than that).   

[mfitz804]

16 minutes ago, MadDog2020 said:

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/carey-prices-uncertain-injury-status-complicates-krakens-decision/sn-amp/?__twitter_impression=true

The only reason I think its likely is because they need to get to that cap floor. If they don't take him, they have to make up that salary elsewhere. That may be PK, but there are also a lot of available players with high salaries, even if not that high. 

If I am them Dreiger is my goalie. 27 years old but without a lot of mileage, coming off a good effort finally playing more than 20 games, .927 and 2.07, 5th in the league in both categories among goalies playing at least 14 games. 

Does Tuukka Rask still get a starting job in the NHL? Maybe a $6.5m backup isn't a great idea normally, but when you have to meet a cap floor, and Dreiger hasn't played more than 23 games in a season, it could make sense. Rask has definitely lost a step, but he may yet still have the lowest GAA and highest Save % of any of the other options. 

[mfitz804]

28 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Souhan: Wild wanted both Zach Parise and Ryan Suter gone (yahoo.com)

Well it's a good thing, because if they didn't, buying them out would have been a huge mistake. 

I read the article and I get what he's saying, but its an awful title and the concept that if you are bad in the locker room, they'll keep you if you are still performing isn't really a hot take. 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

3 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

Well it's a good thing, because if they didn't, buying them out would have been a huge mistake. 

I read the article and I get what he's saying, but its an awful title and the concept that if you are bad in the locker room, they'll keep you if you are still performing isn't really a hot take. 

I get the feeling that both Parise AND Suter thought they were borderline untouchable...probably from having already been there so long, with several years to go...so I guess the level of entitlement (complacency?) was to be expected.  Suter had to be even more shocked...who knows, but it wouldn't surprise me if Suter took Guerin's call thinking that Guerin was going to tell him that yes, Zach has indeed been sacked, now here's how we are planning to move forward, with you still in the fold.  The LAST thing that Suter had to be expecting to hear was "Oh yeah, I'm sacking you too pal!"

The Wild obviously paid a hefty price to do this...not all that often that a team has the stones to just boot two players with considerable time left on their deals...sure, being that this season was the only one where they could retain considerable cap space, it made no sense to wait, but still...just the "Damn, can't believe that they actually DID this" reaction shows why Parise and Suter never thought this could ever happen to BOTH of them.     

[mfitz804]

I’m pretty surprised it happened. And doubly surprised that it was both of them. That’s a lot of money and a lot of term that were left. 

I was initially thinking we might have interest in one or both, but now I don’t think guys who got cut loose 4 years early due to an attitude problem are what we need in the locker room with all of these young players. 

[AEWHistory]

14 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

I’m pretty surprised it happened. And doubly surprised that it was both of them. That’s a lot of money and a lot of term that were left. 

I was initially thinking we might have interest in one or both, but now I don’t think guys who got cut loose 4 years early due to an attitude problem are what we need in the locker room with all of these young players. 

I couldn’t agree more.  This is doubly true given that the former culture of winning above all else and discipline that Lou installed has basically been lost.  Now it needs to be rebuilt and that requires people with strong character—people who put being great above wanting things like saving a little driving time to get to practice.  
 

Oh how I miss Ken Daneyko’s toughness, Stevens leadership, toughness, and will to dominate, Elias’s brilliance (I think you deserve the HoF Patty!) and Brodeur’s amazing consistency (not to mention Lemieux’s clutch performances and many other wonderful players).  Man, I can’t wait to get home and fire up my VHS copy of Heaven and the other cup run videos.  Now to hook up my VCR….. my kids will be very confused.

[mfitz804]

2 minutes ago, AEWHistory said:

 Now to hook up my VCR….. my kids will be very confused.

I don't think my daughter (14) has ever seen a VHS tape in person. We had a VCR when she was very young, hooked up and collecting dust.  

She still tries to fast forward the commercials on live TV sometimes, at which point I remind her that would be time travel, which is not something Verizon FIOS offers. 

Between that and things being available on demand, these kids have no clue what it used to be like. I once moved all of my bedroom furniture to different positions so I could be set up to reach the knob on my TV to turn the channel on one side, and reach the stereo on the other side. 

[Devil Dan 56]

13 minutes ago, AEWHistory said:

I couldn’t agree more.  This is doubly true given that the former culture of winning above all else and discipline that Lou installed has basically been lost.  Now it needs to be rebuilt and that requires people with strong character—people who put being great above wanting things like saving a little driving time to get to practice.  
 

Oh how I miss Ken Daneyko’s toughness, Stevens leadership, toughness, and will to dominate, Elias’s brilliance (I think you deserve the HoF Patty!) and Brodeur’s amazing consistency (not to mention Lemieux’s clutch performances and many other wonderful players).  Man, I can’t wait to get home and fire up my VHS copy of Heaven and the other cup run videos.  Now to hook up my VCR….. my kids will be very confused.

 I think Heaven is on YouTube somewhere. I'm very happy I converted my VHS copy to a digital file. The tape definitely had a lot of use back in the day. 

Also yeah, those are some amazing locker room guys we had back then. Throw in guys like Holik, McKay, Brylin etc. What a group 

[Devilsfan118]

1 hour ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

I get the feeling that both Parise AND Suter thought they were borderline untouchable...probably from having already been there so long, with several years to go...so I guess the level of entitlement (complacency?) was to be expected.  Suter had to be even more shocked...who knows, but it wouldn't surprise me if Suter took Guerin's call thinking that Guerin was going to tell him that yes, Zach has indeed been sacked, now here's how we are planning to move forward, with you still in the fold.  The LAST thing that Suter had to be expecting to hear was "Oh yeah, I'm sacking you too pal!"

I take immense pleasure in the fact that Suter was apparently so upset. 

Dude was more or less tampering with Parise during our cup run, refused to come east and forced Zach to move west.

They can both rot as far as I'm concerned - don't want them anywhere near this team.

Edit:

In their first few years with the Wild, Parise was known for asking for the team to practice in Minneapolis, closer to his home, which drove the coaching staff crazy, and Suter was known for lobbying Leipold, a move that would backfire in any company.

Yikes.

Edited July 19, 2021 by Devilsfan118

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

1 hour ago, mfitz804 said:

I’m pretty surprised it happened. And doubly surprised that it was both of them. That’s a lot of money and a lot of term that were left. 

I was initially thinking we might have interest in one or both, but now I don’t think guys who got cut loose 4 years early due to an attitude problem are what we need in the locker room with all of these young players. 

On one hand, they both just got served a rather hefty slice of humble pie...for all we know, effectively getting "fired" might have snapped them out of their entitlement. 

That being said, I agree fully with you and Devilsfan118, in that I don't want any part of either one...initially I would've considered Suter, but it's not like these guys will be bringing these resumes of massive success with them.  And their best years are behind them.  Devils aren't in a position to bring in "maybe he still has something" 37-year-olds at the moment.

I'm guessing Suter finds his way onto a contender (think one or two year deal), where the locker room leadership is well established...basically a "Welcome aboard, play well, don't come in here looking to fvck up a good thing, you need us a lot more than we need you, but maybe we can win something together" scenario...he'll have to blend in as solid role player from here on out, and leave the leadership duties to others.  I think Parise might have to sign with a meh to bad team, where if he plays well enough, maybe a contender looking for a little scoring depth deals a pick to rent him.  

Edited July 19, 2021 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

13 minutes ago, Devilsfan118 said:

In their first few years with the Wild, Parise was known for asking for the team to practice in Minneapolis, closer to his home, which drove the coaching staff crazy, and Suter was known for lobbying Leipold, a move that would backfire in any company.

These are the kinds of cards you maaaaaaaaybe can play if you were front and center in helping your team win a championship...Messier has basically acted like a co-owner of the Rangers since 1994, and if not for that championship, he's never getting away with that crap.  But as we well know, Parise and Suter didn't win d*ck with the Wild...makes you wonder how these guys got so damned carried away with themselves.  Can't act like conquering heroes unless ya, you know, conquer.

[NJDevils1214]

2 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

These are the kinds of cards you maaaaaaaaybe can play if you were front and center in helping your team win a championship...Messier has basically acted like a co-owner of the Rangers since 1994, and if not for that championship, he's never getting away with that crap.  But as we well know, Parise and Suter didn't win d*ck with the Wild...makes you wonder how these guys got so damned carried away with themselves.  Can't act like conquering heroes unless ya, you know, conquer.

They conquered the Wild owner's bank account.

[mfitz804]

50 minutes ago, Devilsfan118 said:

I take immense pleasure in the fact that Suter was apparently so upset. 

Dude was more or less tampering with Parise during our cup run, refused to come east and forced Zach to move west.

They can both rot as far as I'm concerned - don't want them anywhere near this team.

Edit:

In their first few years with the Wild, Parise was known for asking for the team to practice in Minneapolis, closer to his home, which drove the coaching staff crazy, and Suter was known for lobbying Leipold, a move that would backfire in any company.

Yikes.

Can you move the practices closer to my house?? How about fvck yourself. 

[MadDog2020]

What a leader Parise is, eh? ‘Move practice closer to my house so I’ll be less inconvenienced’. The whole ‘I’m staying don’t worry’ thing is a lot less surprising knowing this lol. What a douche.

I’m glad Zach will likely go to his grave knowing the closest he came to the Cup was here in 2012.

Edited July 19, 2021 by MadDog2020

[Devilsfan118]

10 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

Can you move the practices closer to my house?? How about fvck yourself. 

Can you imagine him trying that with Lou..

"Congrats Zach, I've arranged it so that you will be practicing with the Sabres up in Buffalo.  I've also arranged a very exclusive and private taxi that you will be utilizing for the trips.  You just let me know if you want to go ahead with this."

[MadDog2020]

Good for you kid. 💯🍺

[mfitz804]

11 minutes ago, MadDog2020 said:

Good for you kid. 💯🍺

It’s that this even has to be an announcement in 2021, but I’m happy that he’s happy. 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

1 minute ago, mfitz804 said:

It’s [sad] that this even has to be an announcement in 2021, but I’m happy that he’s happy. 

I hear ya, but at the same time, you know that there are SO many pro athletes that are terrified of coming out (or being "discovered").  Hopefully other players start to feel comfortable enough to follow Prokop's lead...maybe they don't necessarily announce it to all, but at least they'll be a lot freer to live their lives in the open, without feeling like they have something to hide.

Like that some players have come out in support of him as well.  As more players become comfortable coming out, hopefully it becomes less and less of a thing...to the point where such players are viewed just like their peers (and judged mostly on performance).  

1 hour ago, MadDog2020 said:

What a leader Parise is, eh? ‘Move practice closer to my house so I’ll be less inconvenienced’. The whole ‘I’m staying don’t worry’ thing is a lot less surprising knowing this lol. What a douche.

I’m glad Zach will likely go to his grave knowing the closest he came to the Cup was here in 2012.

I never had anything against him for leaving...but man, is that whole "arrange practices around what's good for ME" thing such a horrible look.  I had no idea he was like that.  And he obviously knew anything close to that never would've flown while Lou was in charge.  Makes you wonder why Minnesota allowed that to happen...sounds like they most definitely played in a role in Zach and Ryan having too much power too soon.  

[mfitz804]

17 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

I hear ya, but at the same time, you know that there are SO many pro athletes that are terrified of coming out (or being "discovered"). 

Hell yeah, that’s why it’s sad. It shouldn’t be an issue for anyone. Where you put your stick only matters on the ice. 

[DevsMan84]

Hearing more about how Parise acted in Minnesota makes me think that the theory that Parise was miffed about the Devils putting their energy and their money towards Kovalchuk and his contract actually holds some water.

4 hours ago, Devilsfan118 said:

I take immense pleasure in the fact that Suter was apparently so upset. 

Dude was more or less tampering with Parise during our cup run, refused to come east and forced Zach to move west.

They can both rot as far as I'm concerned - don't want them anywhere near this team.

Edit:

In their first few years with the Wild, Parise was known for asking for the team to practice in Minneapolis, closer to his home, which drove the coaching staff crazy, and Suter was known for lobbying Leipold, a move that would backfire in any company.

Yikes.

I have to admit, that has always irked me too.  

[Rob_Ottawa]

Definitely don't want Parise back here. Bigger traitor than Niedermayer

[eldon]

Someone explain please.

"...and Suter was known for lobbying Leipold, a move that would backfire in any company."

[MadDog2020]

7 minutes ago, eldon said:

Someone explain please.

"...and Suter was known for lobbying Leipold, a move that would backfire in any company."

‘Going over your boss’ head to their boss when you don’t get your way is generally frowned upon’ is what that statement is conveying.

Edited July 19, 2021 by MadDog2020