No consistency on those calls is part of the problem too.

Hits like this that appear to be quite similar can go anywhere from suspension to no call at all.

Needs to be clear consensus on what is a call and what is not.

I agree some players abuse the system the other way by deliberately turning in an attempt to draw a penalty but I do not think this was the case here.

This was a hit from an established NHLER, so he is trying to send a message imo, rather than trying to be noticed by coaches/management.

Tierney is an NHL vet though. He knows what he is doing. The others, as you said I can see the danger because they will do anything to be noticed.

I think this was to send a message because the Vancouver PP torched the Sens that game. Boeser got 3 assists on the PP so he was doing his share of the damage to draw his ire.

I can see your point of not playing established stars in the pre-season. The risk for injury may not be worth it even if it helps get the chemistry going early on.

This post was edited by Killingyouall on Sep 24 2019 07:12pm

Dirty hit, but he still left himself so exposed there.

That's what I mean, boeser assumed, well everyone for that matter that Tierney isn't known to be a dirty player and is an established nhler, so he wouldn't do such reckless things especially in a preseason game... But he was wrong and he got rekt for it. Until nhl finds a way to really back up their claim, players need to hold back and not play to their full potential if they wanna avoid unneeded injuries. However that's hard to do as a professional athlete, in boesers scenario the other option is let the puck out and reset the powerplay setup which won't look good for him and people will label him as lazy lol. It's a lose lose situation tbh

This post was edited by Secksii on Sep 24 2019 07:33pm

tbh Boeser is hunching over in front of the boards. Not that Tierney should've followed through but basically any contact from behind was going to send him head first into the boards.

This post was edited by Hizkuntza on Sep 24 2019 07:34pm

Ferland lost 6lbs due to illness, he's expected to play tmr. Sucks we haven't seen him boeser and Petey together yet

Another rumor is virtanen is being shopped,canucks aren't too happy with his progress. Kinda shitty, I really wanted him to succeed here but his compete/focus isn't there. I think he might get his shit together if he's traded to another team, kinda like how kassian finally got his shit together. Virts like the opposite of stecher... Got the size, speed, hands, shot, but no creativity/iq on ice and isn't motivated enough to improve off season. While stecher is under sized and such yet works his ass off everyday and train til he literally pukes.

This post was edited by Secksii on Sep 24 2019 07:43pm

Kassian scored as many goals as Virtanen did last season, he simply became a 3rd-4th liner. It would be a failure if he went down the same path.

It's why GMs can't a give a fuck about whether someone is a "hometown" boy or not when drafting, you have to pick BPA every time. If we had Ehlers instead Jimbo probably doesn't even give Louie that dogshit contract and we're an objectively better team.

This post was edited by Hizkuntza on Sep 24 2019 11:11pm

ya but before being an established nhler, kassian looked like he wasn't gonna stick around in NHL at all. Also, Kassian got like 8 goals and 20pts playing with drais/mcD in 40 games, prior to that he only had 2g and 5pts playing with kahira, brodziak, and lucic on the 3rd/4th line. While Virtanen is already a 15g 3rd/4th liner with half ass'd effort in the off-season, so i can see his ceiling being a top 6 if he gets his shit together. Virt exploded at the first half of season last year and looked to be a 20goal/40pt player minimum then idk what happened but he fell off the cliff after 40ish games back to his old self. That was also playing with offensive black hole sutter lol Virtanen shown flashes of how he can dominate the game himself when he's playing like a man possessed, but it seems like he can't play that way throughout the whole season.

If we had Ehlers, he would've been ruined by Willie or at least taken a while for him to be where he's at now. Plus that means no Petey,hughes etc.
Virtanen is frustrating af because when he's at his best, he's better than Ehlers/Nylander especially in the playoffs where he won't go invisible when it gets more physical. He hits, he's noticable, he's fast af, he can pass, he can shoot hard, he can pretty much do it all even without the on ice IQ. The problem is he doesn't stay consistent throughout the season, and it seems like he wants to enjoy his 1mil lyfe as a teen still, rather than get into that pro culture with Horvat, Petey, Stecher like the other guys his age or younger. I get the feeling he will get it when he's around 26-27 though, but that's if he puts in the work like the above 3.

Virtanen is simply a low hockey IQ player, he doesn't process the game fast enough or thinks at a high level. A lot of times it looks like laziness when he can't cover defensively but it's about not being able to read where the puck is going or what the possibilities for the opposing team are. Maybe good coaching can drill him into certain patterns where he doesn't have to think too hard to make the right decision on the spot but to me he's more like David Booth than Kassian - who did float and struggle off the ice, and by the time he got his shit together his best years were behind him.

I do still have hope for Virtanen since Green seems to be a great coach from a developmental perspective, but it's that problem where it's easy to give a player new tools but it's way harder to get his toolbox to grow bigger.

This post was edited by Hizkuntza on Sep 25 2019 08:02pm

I think this is a good point that has often been overlooked.

If he indeed does have low hockey IQ how can he ever expect to play with Petey or Horvat? I would have to agree with you that his IQ is below average. Thing is if he can improve on that even a little bit his natural size, power, speed and skill can overcome that.

Maybe they have given up on him already. After all they did get Miller and Ferland. Maybe he had a shot at a consistent top 6 role had they not been signed....

I just don't want to give up on him because Bertuzzi (and a lot of other power forwards) did not hit stride until later in their career. It would be brutal to see him traded for next to nothing, only to see him break out for another team.



Time will tell I guess.

This post was edited by Killingyouall on Sep 25 2019 08:37pm