Artemus

Thanks to the OP for taking the time to copy this Rule 42. After game 5, I looked up this Rule and realized that those people with a lack of reading comprehension would glom onto the phrase "jump into" as justification for the penalty. I just didn't believe that our national TV panel of experts would be unable to accurately comprehend this written rule. As the OP points out, this phrase in the preamble is meaningless without taking into context the definition which is supplied in the second paragraph. How many times have we seen a player along the boards, jump in order to lessen the impact from an incoming body check. According to this Ref and this panel of experts, that jumping player may be guilty of charging (penalty called at the Ref's discretion). Hope that the referee that made that penalty call is sufficiently chastised by his supervisor. That referee should not work another game this Stanley Cup playoffs. His mistake was that egregious. He should also be required to take remedial studies of the NHL rule book. Maybe as good a time as any to get in a quick discussion about one of my pet peeves: the second referee. -it is time to remove this official from the ice surface. This job can be better handled by a combination of off-ice officials and the use of cameras (which is partially done now). -every game, usually on multiple occasions, there is an impact from this deep official, whether it is a puck hitting him or a player having to navigate past him, which takes time and allows for the forecheck to close. -the game has evolved. There is much more cycling of the puck than previous decades. The players are bigger and faster. Just not enough room out on the ice for a bystander.

Yes, there could be a good debate whether to have Cole or Juulsen line up on the other side of General Zad. Juulsen is a bit quicker, a bit more physical, has a good outlet pass and is right handed. Cole is that grizzled vet that has been through the Stanley Cup wars on multiple occasions. Unfortunately, he is playing on his weak side, being left handed. This was noticeable in the first period when he got jammed up trying to play the puck on his backhand and resulted in an odd man break. Though I believe that Juulsen is the better right side defenceman, I would still play Cole, just as Rick Tocchet is doing. The playoff experience that Cole has is priceless. Next season we will see full time play from Juulsen.

A couple of days ago I went on a bit of a rant regarding Hronek in the "What will it take to re-sign Zadorov" thread. Thought that maybe a more apropos setting would be in the actual "Hronek Proposal" thread, so I copied and pasted it here. Also, after having watched Hronek through the 10 playoff games and see that he has zero points and is the epitome of chaos in the defensive zone, I am more than a little disappointed in him, especially after his 1st half of this season, where he was playing with passion and displaying some high level skills. So, I know that he can play better. Not a good time to take a vacation! If Hronek is moved he would bring back a lot This is the predominant thought when a Hronek trade is contemplated. I am not convinced that this will be the case. Other teams would have watched Hronek's rather pedestrian pace over the last half of the season and the playoffs. His lack of push up the ice. His deference to letting Hughes lug the bisket is quite noticeable as his go-to pass is a D-D pass over to Hughes. He has pretty much stopped using his big point shot. His play in the defensive zone can at times border on the comical. He is our weakest defender. He is also a little undersized. He wants an 8M+ contract and might get it on the open UFA market as there will probably be a few GM's willing to spend the money if it doesn't cost them any trade capital. There has been some speculation that both Hronek and Pettersson have been playing with nagging injuries. RT has said that this is not the case. With Hronek, I am getting some bad "Loui Eriksson" type vibes. I wouldn't want to be saddled for eight years with some 8M dollar player that just goes through the motions while doing the "little things" all while playing on the periphery. We have been looking for a high skill, 1st pairing defenseman to complement Hughes. I don't believe that Hronek is going to be that person. We need someone a little bigger and better at the all over game, especially defense. I am hopeful that Willander can fill that role in a couple of years. We need a stopgap player until then. We can't re-sign all of our UFA's. Someone has to go. My thought is to cut bait on Hronek. Trade him as soon as possible after our season ends. I am also thinking that we won't get back as much as we paid for him but that we go ahead anyway and get the best deal that we can before we have to "Qualify" him. Sometimes in business you have to manage your losses. Also, by trading Hronek we might have cap space to re-sign Zadorov, Joshua and Lindholm! Would probably also require other cap saving moves like letting Cole, Blueger and DeSmith leave. Am I overreacting to what could just be a period of reflection and adjustment in play by Hronek? Maybe. But he is trending the wrong way over a fairly lengthy period. I would rather be proactive than be stuck with a 7.3M-8M+ underperforming player.

Yeah, I agree about the corrupt leauge, especially the Department of Player Safety. Without McDavid instigating with a slash, there would have been no undue rough play. I would have given all the players involved either nothing or for reasons involving the game optics, I would have given all three players (including McDavid who initiated the whole exchange) a 5K fine. Since there is a hearing, it means that Soucy is likely to get a one game suspension. Absolute horseshit. Remembering a different time when the league overreacted and Aaron Rome got a match penalty and a 4 game suspension. Hope that this isn't the case here.

5K is the maximum dollar fine under the current CBA.

Yeah, I also watched a bit of a bit of that Stars-Avs game the other night and Tanev was looking good. Would I want Tanev back on a two year contract? Depending on the amount, I don't think that such a signing would bite us in the ass but I am hesitant to get behind such a proposal. I remember Tanev bailing on the club as a UFA. I know that the two clowns (Jimbo & Weisbo) "ran out of time" after pursuing an OEL trade. Not a big believer in trying to turn back the clock. If Hronek is moved he would bring back a lot This is the predominant thought when a Hronek trade is contemplated. I am not convinced that this will be the case. Other teams would have watched Hronek's rather pedestrian pace over the last half of the season and the playoffs. His lack of push up the ice. His deference to letting Hughes lug the bisket is quite noticeable as his go-to pass is a D-D pass over to Hughes. He has pretty much stopped using his big point shot. His play in the defensive zone can at times border on the comical. He is our weakest defender. He is also a little undersized. He wants an 8M+ contract and might get it on the open UFA market as there will probably be a few GM's willing to spend the money if it doesn't cost them any trade capital. There has been some speculation that both Hronek and Pettersson have been playing with nagging injuries. RT has said that this is not the case. With Hronek, I am getting some bad "Loui Eriksson" type vibes. I wouldn't want to be saddled for eight years with some 8M dollar player that just goes through the motions while doing the "little things" all while playing on the periphery. We have been looking for a high skill, 1st pairing defenseman to complement Hughes. I don't believe that Hronek is going to be that person. We need someone a little bigger and better at the all over game, especially defense. I am hopeful that Willander can fill that role in a couple of years. We need a stopgap player until then. We can't re-sign all of our UFA's. Someone has to go. My thought is to cut bait on Hronek. Trade him as soon as possible after our season ends. I am also thinking that we won't get back as much as we paid for him but that we go ahead anyway and get the best deal that we can before we have to "Qualify" him. Sometimes in business you have to manage your losses. Also, by trading Hronek we might have cap space to re-sign Zadorov, Joshua and Lindholm! Would probably also require other cap saving moves like letting Cole, Blueger and DeSmith leave. Am I overreacting to what could just be a period of reflection and adjustment in play by Hronek? Maybe. But he is trending the wrong way over a fairly lengthy period. I would rather be proactive than be stuck with a 7.3M-8M+ underperforming player.

Just a slight correction. Hope that I don't come across as being overly pedantic. A four year deal signed this summer would expire when Zadorov is 33. Not 34. Zadorov has an April 16th, 1995 birthdate and is presently 29 years old. He would turn 33 in April of the final year of a four year contract. I think that we could, with not too much trepidation, give Zadorov a five year contract this summer. This contract would expire just several months after Big Z has turned 34. If necessary, I would give consideration to a six year contract but it wouldn't be my preferred length.

Yes that would be his Qualifying Offer. I don't believe that the Hronek camp will accept his QO as he has Arbitration Rights which will probably get him money similar to what Hanifin got in LV. There is no incentive to accept less than this. If we go the arbitration route, then Hronek gets a very decent payday for his final year of RFA status. After which he is UFA and probably will get overpaid by some GM willing to take a chance on a 27 year old right side D-man.

Zadorov has been a very pleasant surprise. When he first arrived, I thought that he was going to be a valuable but relatively costly 3rd pairing D-man. A strong, physical and large person that really used his size. Then in the second half of the season, maybe it was just a matter of getting comfortable with his teammates or maybe a confidence thing, for whatever reason Big Z starting lugging the mail up the ice, often weaving through defenders in the neutral zone and even spending some time deep in the offensive zone. He was looking good while doing this and was taking care of the back end, as well. Zadorov is displaying the talent that you want in a 2nd pairing defenceman. If we re-sign Zadorov, we would then have Hughes as the #1 LHD, Zadorov as the #2 LHD and Soucy as the #3 LHD. Reportedly, Zadorov had asked for a 5x5 extension earlier ( I think it was Frank Seravalli doing the reporting). This is probably in the ballpark of where his next contract will land. Having watched both Zadorov and Hronek for the last half of the year and the first round of playoffs, I would re-prioritize who we sign next and I would have Zadorov ahead of Hronek. Hronek, to me, is an enigma. His first half of the year was very good and I was smiling while contemplating him as one half of our #1 defensive pairing. He was carrying the puck up the ice. He was making some slick passes to the forwards and he was using his cannon of a shot. His second half of the year, he no longer carries the puck up the ice with any regularity. His go-to pass now is a D to D pass over to Hughes. He routinely defers to Hughes and makes little effort to skate the puck up the ice himself. He seldom uses his big point shot anymore. He is our weakest defender. Checked the team stats after the first round. Hronek is the only D-man, who has played all six games, that has zero points. He is also tied for the worst plus-minus on the team at -2. What has happened to Hronek? This is not the same player that was making me smile at the beginning of the year.

Yes, a solid signing. His father, Grover Covington was a standout defensive end for the Hamilton Tiger Cats. I believe that Grover holds the CFL record for the most sacks in a career. Hope that his health is good. He was dealing with some injury problems for the last couple of seasons in the NFL. Apparently, Christian has dropped his playing weight down to 280 lbs. from his NFL weight of 300 lbs. Needed to get lighter to play on the bigger Canadian field. Along with Josh Banks, we should have a pretty solid interior defensive front. I am looking forward to seeing Christian play for the Lions.

2024 CFL draft is scheduled for this Tuesday, April 30th and will be shown on TSN starting at 5 PM. The Lions have 3 picks in the first two rounds.

James another good read. On your point number 6. I thought that Myers made a good play to break the Winnipeg cycle. The puck was swept back to where Soucy was waiting. Solid play. The Winnipeg fore checker was coming in to contest for the puck behind the net. No problem. The fore checker and Soucy tie up and the puck would normally carry on past the scrum made by Soucy and the fore checker with Lafferty being in position to get to the puck behind the net. Unfortunately, Soucy didn't tie up the Winnipeg players stick and this player was able to deflect the puck out front to a spot that Lafferty had just vacated, perhaps a little too early. Rather than blame Myers, who I thought played well for most of the game, I would point my finger at Soucy and Lafferty for misplays on that goal. Most goals are not the result of a single poor play but rather a combination of good play by the opposition and a poor play by the defending team, often with a fortuitous bounce thrown in. This is pretty much what I saw happening with this Winnipeg goal.

Don't want to be overly pedantic but just a small correction. Benning actually signed Tyler Myers to a 5 year contract.

Yes, he could just accept his "Qualifying Offer" which would leave his salary for next season at $4.4 M and would take him to UFA status. More likely, I think, is that he would choose to go the "Arbitration Route" as he does have arbitration rights. This arbitrated salary would, in all likelihood, be in the neighbourhood of Hanifin and Toews salaries. His salary for next year would then include a nice bump and would also take him to UFA status. So there would be very little financial cost for FH not signing long term, unless he gets his asking price of $8 M+ this summer. The only down side to this strategy would be if FH gets injured next year or if he has a statistically poor year.

You're Welcome. Don't know the ask but if I got the story correct, and I am relying on my memory, it was nothing, "Future Considerations" or the like. It seems that the Panthers would also have benefited from Luongo going on Vancouver's LTIR as they too had a Luongo Cap Recapture Penalty, although it was no where near as large as our penalty.