Tag Archives: Lindsay Ryall

Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, Lindsay Ryall, NHL, Rob Cooke, Sunday Night Pint

BLH Sunday Night Pint #4

Welcome back to another edition of Sunday Night Pint!

This week we’ll have Rob Cooke (@cooke_rob), a hungover Lindsay Ryall (@lindsman77), and myself, BLH (@beerleagueheroe) rattling off some value bombs for you fine folks!

The Topics:

  • Pacific Division predictions!
  • Oilers enforcers!
  • Raising the dead!
Let’s Get This Party Started!

 

1. Pacific Division Predictions

BLH- I think it’ll go down like this: Anaheim, Los Angeles, Edmonton, San Jose, Calgary, Vancouver, Arizona.

I’m not sold on San Jose as a functioning squad this year. Their goaltending is unproven, the lack scoring from the wings and their new coach has done nothing to prove that he’ll take the Sharks any further that where they stand now, out of the playoffs. I’m also convinced that Calgary is going to hit the wall this season. Too many years now of lucking out. Either their young guys, their goaltending, or the coaching dries up this year. Vancouver and Arizona will be in competition for Auston Matthews, Jakub Chychrun, and Jesse Puljujarvi so who cares about them.

L.A. should be good for 2nd place but then again looked what happened to Boston last year…

Edmonton on the other hand is trending up. They’ve improved their roster immensely since last season. I’d say they’re on the opposite end of the spectrum as San Jose. Their top 6 has the potential to be the deadliest in the league and Talbot is entering the prime of his career after putting up some deadly numbers last year in New York. The secret weapon won’t be a player but an aura called The McDavid Effect.

LR – Ducks: The Ducks core is in their prime and they keep getting reinforcements on a maturing D and in goal. Getzlaf, Perry and crew easily have the talent and experience to easily push for another final four appearance and maybe even another cup as Chicago suffers under cap restraints. Finish 1st, 108 pts.

Kings: Many would see the Kings problems as a sign of potential implosion, but the bulk of their core remains intact and the addition of Milan Lucic means they are tougher and heavier in their top six. They could use more depth on D but finishing out of the playoffs will provide tons of motivation for this veteran-laden team only two years removed from a cup. Finish 2nd, 102 pts.

Flames: I hate the Flames, but I have to admit they have the best D in the Pacific and defense gets you wins and points in the NHL today. Look for highly touted rookie Sam Bennett to suffer a severe upper-body injury by mid-season but the rest of the forward group are serviceable if unspectacular and play very well within Bob Hartley’s system. Finish 3rd, 98 pts

Sharks: I predicted this team’s erosion a couple of years ago but they have stubbornly remained relevant… Until last year when they missed the playoffs. Not even Logan Couture’s daunting overbite can save them now. Unproven in goal and leaderless they will continue to drift. Finish 4th, 88 pts.

Oilers: After the draft I took a sip of the Kool-Aid and I liked the taste. Nonetheless, I’m not ready to label this team as playoff bound just yet, still too inexperienced on D and it’s not certain what impact Nurse and Reinhart will have. Nevertheless, they will take a huge step forward and position themselves to challenge the following year. Look for a 75 point season from the Nuge to go with 65 – 70 points from McDavid as he becomes the Oilers’ first Calder Trophy winner. Finish 5th, 84 pts.

Canucks: The Canucks have done nothing to help themselves and continue to drop in talent even further. The Sedins are well into their 30’s and aren’t magicians, so no playoffs for Vancouver. Finish 6th, 82 pts.

Coyotes: The Coyotes have the makings of a very exciting team… In about 3-4 years. Besides OEL they don’t have an impact player and it’s unsure Mike Smith can bounce back from a disastrous season. Missing the playoffs by a lot and being in the thick of the Auston Mathews sweepstakes. Finish 7th, 62 pts.

RC – Anaheim, Los Angeles, Calgary, Edmonton, San Jose, Vancouver, Arizona

2. Who’s Your Favorite Oilers Tough Guy?

McDavid SMASH!

BLH – My favorite Oilers tough guy is the team’s all-time leader in penalty minutes (1747) Kelly Buchberger. He lost more fights than he won but there was no backing down when push came to shove. The list of guys he fought is legendary: Probert, Pronger, Neely, McSorley, Kordic, Grimson, McCarty, Tim Hunter, Brashear, Kocur, and Odjick just to name a few. #BraveMan

LR – Dave Brown: This is a close call as I’m also a big Georges Laraque fan, and who could forget Semenko, but Brown was just so devastating. He didn’t just beat people up, he destroyed them.

RC – Dave Semenko without question. I grew up watching Cement Head take on all comers and I loved the epic battles of Alberta even more when Semenko and Hunter would go at it!

3. If You Could Bring Back Any Hockey Player From The Dead To Play For The Oilers, Who Would It Be?

BLH – I’d bring back Maurice “The Rocket” Richard. I remember reading a children’s illustrated book when I was small boy that featured The Rocket and I can’t remember what the name was but the message was about tenacity. I didn’t know what that word meant but by the end of that short story I knew all I needed to know about the word and the player! This man played the game with as much honesty as you could ask for and never asked for anything in return. Not only that but he managed to get an entire city to riot after he was suspended.

LR – Eddie Shore: Shore was much more than a footnote in the movie Slapshot, he was the original two way defenceman. Shore could beat you with toughness and scoring from the blueline, both of which the Oilers could use on their team today.

RC – This is a really tough one for me because the vast majority of the players that I grew up watching are still alive today. I decided that rather than select a former all star from another organization that I would select a player that left us way to young and had a ton of potential. Kristians Pelss was an Oilers prospect when he tragically died in a swimming accident in 2013 in his home country of Latvia. I have always wondered what he could have become had we not lost him.

Well that wraps it up for us here. Let us know in the comments below your Pacific Division predictions, who your favorite tough guy was or who you’d bring back from the dead to play on the Oilers.

As always you can catch up with us on Twitter @beerleagueheroe or on Facebook!

And if you have it in your heart, please share this post and tweet it out! Thanks guys and gals!

Take Care!

-BLH

 

Lindsay Ryall, NHL

No Rush to Crown Blackhawks a Dynasty

Credit: USA Today

When it comes to major hockey moments a bit of time to gain perspective is often required.  So it was a little surprising to hear a unanimous rush to grant the 2014 – 15 Chicago Blackhawks the elite status of dynasty, a term afforded to only 9 teams (six franchises) over 95 years in the NHL’s lengthy history.  To be clear what makes a dynasty, definition can be drawn from the small number of teams recognized as such by the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Based on the franchises that have been awarded this lofty status there are a few standout criteria items.

-Need to have one two cups back to back over the dynastic period.

-Must have won a minimum of four Stanley cups.

-Clearly have dominated other opposition during their period of greatness.

When matching this criteria to Chicago Blackhawks that one it’s first cup in 2009, the windy city franchise clearly does not match up.  They haven’t won back to back cups, they haven’t won four Stanley cups, and they really haven’t been the clear dominant franchise during their dynastic period.  So why is media, NHL executives and hordes of fans rushing to declare them a dynasty?  The reasons have less to do with facts and more to do with marketing and a desire by all to feel they are watching hockey that is truly special.

Gary Bettman Says So . . .

When the cup was awarded, the NHL Hockey boss said he believed the Chicago Blackhawks were a dynasty and took advantage of one of those rare moments when he wasn’t showered with boos.  It must have made Gary feel warm and fuzzy to be the good guy on this occasion, however, that good feeling was likely a far distance from his true motivation.  Bettman’s real motive, the one he holds near near and dear to his heart, is selling the sport of hockey in the U,S, and making as much money for the league and himself in the process..  Chicago is one of the top markets in the US and while he doesn’t need to sell hard to this storied franchise, it doesn’t hurt.  Additionally, while the spot light was in Chicago all the U.S. could bask in the afterglow.  Do you think that may help sell some tickets?  It certainly wouldn’t hurt.

The issue I have with Bettman’s statement is that I don’t believe he is equipped to make any blanket statements with respect to the sacred sport of hockey.  I honestly believe if he was hooked to a lie detector and and asked to recount his top ten hockey memories he might get to 7 before machine went beserk as he went into the fabrication zone.  So to believe Bettman’s cheerleading legitimizes a Blackhawk dynasty is pure folly.

What About The Media?

Somewhat surprisingly the hockey media generally rushed to support the notion that Chicago should be crowned a dynasty.  Even established vets like Bob Mckenzie agreed that the cup victory legitimized a new dynasty.  The real question that needs to be asked is why?  Especially when the Hawks’ victory totals clearly did not stack up to any previous dynasties.  The straight answer to that is the media was really just doing it’s job and spinning the most interesting angle following the Stanley cup victory.  To some degree that perspective of the media can be appreciated albeit the claim remains inaccurate.  Especially when you couple the media’s natural drive for the biggest story out there with a push for something to make our hockey time that much more significant.  This push isn’t new.  As long ago as 2000 the HHOF had been feeling pressure to recognize something truly elite comparable to other great hockey eras.  Elite players have arrived but no real elite teams, at least no dynasties.

But They Did It Under The Salary Cap so . . .

A very valid point all those who support the Hawks’  claim to dynasty status is that the salary cap that has been in place since 2005 – 06 has made it all but impossible to assemble a four cup team, so a three cup one spread out over five years should suffice.  But is that really the biggest obstacle to another dynasty team?  As challenging as the cap is the continuing influx of teams over the past 20 years that have diluted the talent available as well as competition from other leagues for high level players have sapped the talent pool.

Based on that ongoing challenge, a team like the Detroit Red Wings of the mid to late 90’s that won three cups over five years should have received equal consideration for dynasty status, but never did.  The reason the push is on now has less to do with the Blackhawks actually being a dynasty and more to do with all parties associated with the NHL wanting something that special to happen during their time watching hockey.  As for Blackhawks actually being a dynasty there is one last significant reason that disqualifies them:  During their ostensibly dynastic period they did not dominate from start to finish.

When you look at past dynasties, specifically ones like the 1920’s Senators or 1950’s Detroit Red Wings that did not win their cups consecutively, they were still clearly the dominant team of their dynastic period.  The Chicago Blackhawks by comparison only have one more cup than dynasty rival, the Los Angeles Kings.  Indeed, if the Kings were to somehow rebound next year they would have won as many cups as Chicago and would also incorrectly challenge for dynasty status.  So would that be realistic?  No, it would all be high level wishful thinking.

Now, what if the Blackhawks were to pull off yet one more win in the 2015 – 2016 season?  Would that be enough to do it?  Well, actually I would have to say yes.  They would have won four cups over a relatively short period of time including back to back wins and would clearly have been the best team during their dynastic period.  So until that happens, lets not rush to make any excessive claims of grandeur but simply label the Blackhawks for what they are: an excellent team of their era comparable to the Detroit Red Wings or Colorado Avalanche of the 90’s.  But are they a dynasty?  Not quite yet.

Thanks for reading but before you go, head on over to the Beer League Heroes T-Shirt Shop and pick yourself up something nice to represent your love for the Edmonton Oilers and The Beer League Heroes! Every dollar received helps keep this dream alive! Thanksand Happy McDavid Day!!!

-BLH