The Hard Luck Franchise

[Pokecheque]

Werenski out for the season, Laine out (again) for what could be a month.

I figured the Jackets would not meet expectations with the signing of Johnny Hockey, but man-oh-man I did not expect an implosion out the gate like this.

[Chris18]

Werenski out for the season, Laine out (again) for what could be a month.

I figured the Jackets would not meet expectations with the signing of Johnny Hockey, but man-oh-man I did not expect an implosion out the gate like this.

Laine sprained his ankle trying to hold Parise back in OT vs the Isles. I was wondering why he just gave up after the ref's arm went up to call him. I thought he'd trip Parise then to keep him from getting so open. Now I get why. Or maybe the ankle went just ahead of that and that's why he held Parise?

[Pokecheque]

Laine to me is the new Alexei Kovalev. A guy with all the talent in the world to be one of the top three players in the league, but just can't put it together consistently for whatever reason. And nowadays he's about as durable as a china doll. I imagine he'll be one of those luxury pieces for various teams who will just bounce around the league, then head to Europe for his twilight years. But he can't be a guy you build around.

Meanwhile, Lumbus's native son Jack Roslovic will be a healthy scratch tonight. Speaking of guys with good talent who can't seem to get it together.

[Pokecheque]

People are saying Elvis might be mentally broken, he's had a horrendous start to the season and is now on the shelf with an injury. Last year of course he deserved a pass after what happened in the offseason, he may still be reeling from that.

If indeed another career gets derailed in Lumbus because of insanely tragic circumstances (Espen Knutsen being the first) then this really is the Hard Luck Franchise.

[Pokecheque]

Kirill Marchenko: 25 games, 11 goals, ZERO assists.

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You can give him the puck and he might score with it, but he ain't givin' it back to ya.

[harmfuljays]

Weekes tried to call him the thrill the other night......they were trying VERY HARD on that ESPN plus exclusive Jax/Flames game.

I felt bad for the real thrill....Kaprizov..who actually earns the name.

This is a perfect team for Johnny to be on!

[Pokecheque]

Boy if this team doesn't end up with Connor Bedard...this is just painful to watch.

[Chris18]

Boy if this team doesn't end up with Connor Bedard...this is just painful to watch.

Maybe Johnny Hockey has a crystal ball and really wanted to play alongside Bedard.

They aren't the "hard luck" franchise at this point. It's more like "luck like roadkill" franchise.

[Pokecheque]

Just forfeit the rest of the season. My God.

[E.L.]

Just forfeit the rest of the season. My God.

They were god awful against a Habs team that won two of their last 10. Give them Bedard out of pity.

[Bosc]

Just forfeit the rest of the season. My God.

They were god awful against a Habs team that won two of their last 10. Give them Bedard out of pity.

Oh we definitely know it'll be Chicago or Philly.

[E.L.]

Just forfeit the rest of the season. My God.

They were god awful against a Habs team that won two of their last 10. Give them Bedard out of pity.

Oh we definitely know it'll be Chicago or Philly.

Chicago feels like the team to get the weighted ping pong ball/frozen envelope. Bettman feels they've learned their lesson.

[Pokecheque]

God, I'll vomit if it's the goddamn Hawks. Probably will be.

[Bosc]

Imagine thinking anyone but the Hawks were getting Bedard.

[Fogghorn]

So Poke do I need to send you some paper towel for the cleanup or will the dogs take care of your mess?


I hate becoming a conspiracy guy, but I so don't trust the NHL to not game the system so the big TV market gets the pick.

[Pokecheque]

So Poke do I need to send you some paper towel for the cleanup or will the dogs take care of your mess?


I hate becoming a conspiracy guy, but I so don't trust the NHL to not game the system so the big TV market gets the pick.

Fuck. Fucking fuck fuck.

Devils give a contract to Ilya Kovalchuk that under the rules at the time was perfectly legal, lose their first rounder.

Coyotes hold some "illegal workouts" *GASP* and lose their first rounder.

Blackhawks cover up sexual abuse of a player, allow him to have a day with the Cup, even write a letter of recommendation to allow him to prey on more kids, not only do they keep their first rounder, it's a goddamn fucking generational talent.

I really hate hockey sometimes. I really, really do.

[Pokecheque]

Goddamn it I'm pissed. I'm pissed for Lumbus fans who had to sit through THAT, only to end up with...Leo Carlsson. Ugh.

And yeah, I don't buy for a moment the system isn't gamed at least a little bit.

[Bosc]

Devils give a contract to Ilya Kovalchuk that under the rules at the time was perfectly legal, lose their first rounder.

The Devils did not, in fact, lose their first rounder. The Devils could have forfeited the 29th overall pick the year that they made the finals, but Lou didn't. Then later the NHL rescinded that penalty and just moved the pick to the end of the first round. So they simply moved down in the draft instead of losing the pick. Also, they halved the fine that the Devils hadn't paid in full years after the penalty was levied.

It was the most fucking obvious wink wink nudge nudge "punishment" I've ever fucking seen. And I haven't seen a single fucking person call the NHL out on it.

I will say that I do feel the lottery is above board because there's no way you'd get enough owners/GM on board rigging a team to get Crosby, McDavid, or Bedard. But holy fuck there's no way Chicago wasn't going to win the lottery regardless.

[Pokecheque]

Devils give a contract to Ilya Kovalchuk that under the rules at the time was perfectly legal, lose their first rounder.

The Devils did not, in fact, lose their first rounder. The Devils could have forfeited the 29th overall pick the year that they made the finals, but Lou didn't. Then later the NHL rescinded that penalty and just moved the pick to the end of the first round. So they simply moved down in the draft instead of losing the pick. Also, they halved the fine that the Devils hadn't paid in full years after the penalty was levied.

It was the most fucking obvious wink wink nudge nudge "punishment" I've ever fucking seen. And I haven't seen a single fucking person call the NHL out on it.

I will say that I do feel the lottery is above board because there's no way you'd get enough owners/GM on board rigging a team to get Crosby, McDavid, or Bedard. But holy fuck there's no way Chicago wasn't going to win the lottery regardless.

Well they did indeed lose it, but then got a compensatory first rounder afterward. I think it was still lower than what they would've gotten had the pick not been forfeited. I think it was because the new owner went to the league and said "Hey man, I didn't do this, and I cleaned up the mess left by my predecessor so throw me a bone here!" Yes, I agree them canning out was spineless, and Lou insisting on keeping that pick (to get *checks notes* Stefan Matteau, who ended up playing a grand total of 44 games for the Devils and is now in Europe) was just plain stupid, but it was also weird AF for the league to get all pissy over a contract which--at the time--was perfectly legal. They just sorta made up some punishment for rules that weren't even technically broken.

[Fogghorn]

Devils give a contract to Ilya Kovalchuk that under the rules at the time was perfectly legal, lose their first rounder.

The Devils did not, in fact, lose their first rounder. The Devils could have forfeited the 29th overall pick the year that they made the finals, but Lou didn't. Then later the NHL rescinded that penalty and just moved the pick to the end of the first round. So they simply moved down in the draft instead of losing the pick. Also, they halved the fine that the Devils hadn't paid in full years after the penalty was levied.

It was the most fucking obvious wink wink nudge nudge "punishment" I've ever fucking seen. And I haven't seen a single fucking person call the NHL out on it.

I will say that I do feel the lottery is above board because there's no way you'd get enough owners/GM on board rigging a team to get Crosby, McDavid, or Bedard. But holy fuck there's no way Chicago wasn't going to win the lottery regardless.

Well they did indeed lose it, but then got a compensatory first rounder afterward. I think it was still lower than what they would've gotten had the pick not been forfeited. I think it was because the new owner went to the league and said "Hey man, I didn't do this, and I cleaned up the mess left by my predecessor so throw me a bone here!" Yes, I agree them canning out was spineless, and Lou insisting on keeping that pick (to get *checks notes* Stefan Matteau, who ended up playing a grand total of 44 games for the Devils and is now in Europe) was just plain stupid, but it was also weird AF for the league to get all pissy over a contract which--at the time--was perfectly legal. They just sorta made up some punishment for rules that weren't even technically broken.

Louongo rule: teams must not only follow the letter of the rules but also the spirit of the rules, and if not they will be punished according to how much NHL brass likes the owner and/or the GM and/or considers the market to be important to their TV revenue.

This practice can also be applied to players by the NHL Player Safety Review and may be flexible based on regular season or playoffs or if the players has in the past had the temerity to speak negatively to the press up how the NHL is managed.