![]() Adam "The Massive Asshole" Pro Toe gives his take on the Columbus Blue Jackets parting with GM Jarmo Kekalainen, including the ups and downs and what comes next. Eleven years is a long time. And it feels even longer for people who’ve been running an NHL team.
Many GMs get a kick at the can for only three or four years before their lack of success spells the end of their tenure running an organisation. So it was hardly a shock when, Thursday morning, the Columbus Blue Jackets fired GM Jarmo Kekalainen. Ever since the Jackets stumbled out of the gate to a 4-11-4 record this season, the writing has been on the wall for Kekalainen. The focus now will be on the future of Columbus. As such, it was the right move to cut their GM loose now instead of waiting until the summer, especially with a crucial trade deadline on March 8. "We have a lot ahead of us – we've had an up and down, at times turbulent season," president of hockey operations John Davidson said at Thursday's press conference. "I just think that going forward, now's the time to turn that page and go forward with all the decisions we have to make that are ahead of us." Kekalainen is a pioneer of sorts as the NHL’s first-ever European GM. But his teams missed the playoffs six times under his stewardship. Even when he did steer them to the Stanley Cup post-season, the Jackets won only two playoff rounds – one being a COVID-19-affected play-in round (That wasn't the fucking play offs, you fucking stupid pepsi piece of shit). The Blue Jackets had a four-year playoff streak, but they weren't a built winner, and they continue to pay the price for that. Nobody is saying Kekalainen hasn’t done some good things. He’s added roster components who are fixtures in the Blue Jackets’ current setup, including star wingers Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine, top defenceman Zach Werenski and, more recently, elite youngster Adam Fantilli. However, Columbus’ lack of top-calibre depth has never stopped being a problem for the franchise. That’s why whenever the Jackets did run into bad luck on the injury front, the over all picture for the team became disastrous. Despite bringing in prospects and veterans alike, Kekalainen never did have the right competitive balance. Now, Davidson and the rest of the Jackets’ management are under the microscope. They need to listen to almost every trade offer that comes their way, including bids for veterans, including forward Jack Roslovic, captain Boone Jenner and blue liner Ivan Provorov. There should be very few untouchables on the roster, and if they have to upset the apple cart to a degree, there should be no qualms from media or the fan base. It would be one thing if Kekalainen had guided the Blue Jackets to one or two deep playoff runs. He could’ve held up that kind of success as an example of what his blueprint for a championship looked like at its best. But that never materialised, and Kekalainen finally ran out of time. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him get another management job with a new team, but as it stands at present, he’s more than likely going to get a few months to himself before moving on professionally. By all accounts, Kekalainen is a first-rate person and a solid ambassador for the league in Columbus. But they needed to make this move, and there’s finally a clean slate for Columbus. With Fantilli as a centre-piece in the Jackets’ future, there should be better days ahead for the organisation. Davidson & Co. will face major expectations to pick a bright new head of the team, and if they fail to do that, more sweeping change will be coming down the line. It’s now all about picking up the pieces and putting together a brand-new puzzle.
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![]() After an antitrust lawsuit was filed on Wednesday alleging teenage major junior hockey players are exploited, we discuss the context.
An antitrust lawsuit was filed in New York federal court on Wednesday against the CHL and the NHL on behalf of plaintiffs, including two former WHL players.
Among the allegations include teenage players receiving minimal compensation for full-time labour and no compensation for using their names, images and likenesses. The allegations have not been proven in court. But lawsuits take time and money. And the fact of the matter is that even if this lawsuit were to be successful, it might not effect significant change in the hockey landscape. That’s because some of these actions have been successful in the court of law, but where the players and representatives have been stopped in their tracks are in provincial and state legislatures. One need look no further than the fact that major junior hockey players are considered “student athletes” and not employees, which allows junior hockey operators to pay the players far less than minimum wage. If the provincial and state lawmakers continue to craft legislation that is sympathetic to those who run junior hockey, those who have been fighting for players’ rights might continue spinning their wheels. ![]() Mark Spector SPORTSNET EDMONTON — The Detroit Red Wings were more than just a game underdog. They were kicking the Edmonton Oilers' collective rear end, in a second period where Edmonton blew their 3-1 lead to this young, up-and-coming team that was threatening to blow Edmonton out of its own rink.
“We were just standing and watching,” head coach Kris Knoclauch said. “We had ill-advised pinching, the forwards weren’t reloading, and the amount of odd-man rushes we gave up… It was the month of January all combined in one period.” We recall a time when the skate was on the other foot. When the Oilers were always playing the part of the young, hard-charging rebuild, while the great Nicklas Lidstrom and his veteran Red Wings would allow the Oilers to hang around a while, then hit the gas and pull away whenever they needed to. Today, the Oilers are the Stanley Cup contender, while Detroit has missed the post-season for seven straight seasons. And when the Oilers floored it in the third period — paced by four of Connor McDavid’s six assists on the night — the Red Wings could only stand back, smell the exhaust fumes, and fish the puck out of their net. A game that stood at 3-3 after 40 minutes ended in an 8-4 Oilers win, after four straight Edmonton goals to open the third period. “The second period was just not what we want to do,” said McDavid, whose team went 19 games without giving up four goals and has now done so twice in a row. “We gave up numerous chances, numerous odd-man rushes. The forwards not doing a good job coming back, d-men pinching at strange times… “I think we’ve done a great job of playing solid defensive hockey for a large stretch here. I thought it got away on us big-time tonight and Stu (Skinner) bailed us out.” A career high, McDavid’s six assists are one off the NHL single-game record of seven held by Wayne Gretzky and Billy Taylor Sr. He also became the 4th fastest player to reach 600 assists — in 616 games played — behind Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Bobby Orr. A God (even if he is a pepsi) and two fucking scum. The performance also overshadowed poor Cody Ceci, whose first-period goal snapped a 126-game goalless drought that stretched 486 days. In the same game, the stay-at-home Ceci notched career points No. 200 and 201— a fact almost nobody left the rink talking about. “I'm fine with that,” Ceci said of McDavid stealing his show. “He won us the game. He played unbelievable. I think he was a little mad that he got shut out last game (a 4-0 loss at Los Angeles), and he showed it tonight. He came out with some fire and played unbelievable. I've never seen that before.” Said the fucking illiterate disgrace to Canada's school system and probably proof of the incompetence of one's average school teacher. Dylan Holloway scored the 4-3 goal just 44 seconds into the third period, a big goal at the time. By the time this one was over however, Holloway’s third of the season was more well known as McDavid’s third assist of the night. McDavid now has a 19-game home points streak intact, in which he’s scored an incredible 46 points. He ties Blair McDonald for the eighth-longest such streak in Oilers history, and moves to within 13 points of Nikita Kucherov in the race for No. 97’s fourth consecutive Art Ross Trophy. “From the moment the puck drops to the moment the final buzzer rings he’s pretty dialled in,” said Holloway, who was bumped up to the captain’s wing after a second intermission line shuffle. “It comes from his preparation, he’s like that every day at practice. Every workout he’s dialled in. It was only a matter of time before he popped off like that.” One thing that bodes well for the Oilers is their strength late in games. They are now 8-2-1 when tied after two periods, a scenario that will play out frequently in the spring. “It’s going to be a frustrating game to watch back,” said Wings coach Derek Lalonde, “because we did a lot of good things to get a game like that to 3-3 to let it slip away.” The thing about Edmonton is, there are so many weapons for McDavid when he gets to skating the way he did Tuesday. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins buried two goals, while six other players had one each. “Today he got the better of us, which is really frustrating,” said Detroit’s superb young defenceman, Moritz Seider. “Because up to that point, I thought we did a pretty solid job of containing him. “I just have to be honest with myself, we have to be better. I have to be better and we’ll go from there.” Ah, quotes we’ve heard in this town before, many times. They’re just being spoken by the opposite team now. Canadiens GM Hughes discusses streaking Slafkovsky, rebuild progress ahead of trade deadline15/2/2024 TSN.ca Staff The Montreal Canadiens kicked off their rebuild in 2022 by drafting Slovakian forward Juraj Slafkovsky with the No. 1 over all pick. The 6-foot-3, 230 pound forward did not produce immediate results, recording 10 points in 39 games before sustaining a knee injury that cost him most of his rookie season.
It was more of the same to begin 2023-24 as Slafkovsky recorded just seven points in his first 28 games. However, he has flourished since being moved to the top line alongside captain Nick Suzuki and sniper Cole Caufield. Over his past 24 games, the 19-year-old winger has recorded nine goals and 20 points, capped off by three points in the Habs‘ 5-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday. General manager Kent Hughes said the team is happy with Slafkovsky’s development, due in part to his confidence coming through on the ice, and he is happy he has not joined Jarmo. “We expected him to be a big part of the future of our team. The timing of it is something that’s always somewhat uncertain when drafting an 18-year-old. At points last year and even this year, there was still some uncertainty about when that was going to happen,” Hughes said Wednesday. “But what we’ve seen from him, for the most part this year, but mostly over the past 20, 25 games, is just an understanding of what works for his game and where he can impact the game most significantly. He’s playing to his strengths more than anything else. “When you start to get results, the confidence comes with it, and you can see that in his game and his energy and demeanour around the rink.” The Canadiens are attempting to navigate a full rebuild just two seasons removed from a trip to the Stanley Cup finals and currently sit 25th in the league with a 22-23-8 record. While the Habs remain far from playoff contention, there have been clear steps forward with the development of Slafkovsky and the continued emergence of Suzuki as a top-line-calibre centre. Despite the individual progression of the young roster, Hughes says the team still has work to do, both in terms of accumulating assets and building a roster that can compete for a playoff berth. “It’s hard to say how [the rebuild] is going. We’re sitting in the bottom 10 of the league still. Ultimately, the mission is to sit top 10 in the league. Until we see that it’s hard to say we’ve accomplished much of anything,” Hughes said. “From an asset accumulation standpoint, we’re happy where we are. We’ve been able to do that to a certain degree and we’ve accumulated assets, mostly in the form of draft picks. “As far as constructing a team, I think we have a long way to go. A long way in terms of things that need to be accomplished. I’m hoping the timeline is shorter, rather than longer.” Hughes is known to be active at the draft, having traded first-round picks for young centres Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook at the 2022 and 2023 events, respectively. With 23 draft picks, including four first-round selections, in the next two drafts. Hughes hinted at making another move to once again acquire a young player that fits the Canadiens’ rebuilding timeline to supplement their stable of developing young players. “We’ve certainly acquired some players and used those draft picks. I think we need to continue down that path and continue to add to our group of established NHL players that can help take us to the next step that are in a certain age range,” Hughes said. “Big picture, those guys have to be younger players. Where we’re at is a combination of looking to add those players and looking to see where our guys go.” Hughes could be busy leading into the trade deadline on March 8 as goaltender Jake Allen ranks high on the trade bait list, in addition to veteran defenceman David Savard. Ahead of the deadline, the third-year general manager discussed the team’s desire to continually acquire assets while balancing the need for veteran leadership. “One consideration is how quickly we’ll be ready to compete for a playoff spot. It’s also how quickly our guys will be ready to assume more responsibility on the back end and how his leadership brings those players along,” Hughes said about the possibility of moving Savard. “It’s a complicated situation. We didn’t come into the season with the expectation of making the playoffs, but we weren’t going to roll over. “We made the decision to trade Sean [Monahan] to Winnipeg, which we knew would weaken our team in the short term, but we thought it was the right thing. Whether it’s David Savard or other players and other decisions, it’s a very fluid, dynamic situation.” Hughes also discussed the team’s ongoing roster crunch, as the Canadiens continue to hold three goaltenders in Sam Montembeault, Jake Allen, and Cayden Primeau. The 54-year-old said that since signing Montembeault to a three-year contract, the team has shifted focus to moving either Allen or Primeau. However, he adds the goaltender market has been slow as teams need to manoeuvre the salary cap while finding the right fit. While he did not promise he would move a goaltender before the deadline, Hughes does not anticipate going into next season with three on the roster. “Between now and the start of next season we plan to resolve that situation. When that happens, to a certain degree, it depends on the teams in the market for a goalie and whether they can make that happen,” said Hughes. “I know it’s not ideal, particularly for Jake and [Primeau], but they’ve been incredibly professional about it. People want the issue resolved and I think, in this market, people want it resolved by the trade deadline. If it’s there we’ll do it, if it’s not, I’m confident it’ll be resolved before the start of next season.” The Columbus Blue Jackets relieved Jarmo Kelalainen of his duties. John Davidson and the hockey operations management team assume GM duties while finding a replacement ... hopefully for JD.
The Columbus Blue Jackets fired GM Jarmo Kekalainen on Thursday. Kekalainen, 57, was the longest-serving GM in Blue Jackets history, originally hired mid-season in 2012-13. Blue Jackets president of hockey operations and alternate governor John Davidson will assume GM duties with the hockey operations management team while searching for a replacement. “This is one of the hardest days I have had in my career as Jarmo is a friend, someone I have a great deal of respect for and someone who has done a lot of good things during his time here,” Davidson said in a team news release. “While the future of our club is bright, our performance has not been good enough, and it is time for a fresh perspective as we move forward.” Columbus currently sits last in the Eastern Conference and 29th in the NHL with a 16-26-10 record for 42 points. The team hasn't made the playoffs since 2019-20 and hasn't finished higher than sixth place in the Metropolitan Division in the last three seasons. Kekalainen was the first European GM in the NHL. Under him, the Blue Jackets made the playoffs five times out of their total six post-season appearances, including a four-year streak from 2017 to 2020. Their one playoff win came in 2018-19 with a four-game sweep of the Presidents' Trophy-winning Tampa Bay Lightning. They also eliminated the Toronto Maple Leafs in a best-of-five play-in series in the 2020 "bubble" playoffs. In total, the club under Kekalainen posted a 410-362-97 record. At the draft table, the Blue Jackets selected players such as Zach Werenski (eighth over all in 2015), Elvis Merzlikins (76th in 2014), Yegor Chinakhov (21st in 2020), Kent Johnson (fifth in 2021), Cole Sillinger (12th in 2021) and Adam Fantilli (third in 2023). Other drafted players not still with the team include Alexander Wennberg (14th in 2013), Oliver Bjorkstrand (89th in 2013), Vladislav Gavrikov (159th in 2015) and Pierre-Luc Dubois (third in 2016). The Blue Jackets had five coaches during Kekalainen's time as GM, with four coaching games. Last July, the club hired Mike Babcock to replace fired coach Brad Larsen. Before training camp, Babcock resigned following an NHLPA investigation into his interactions with players. Pascal Vincent took his place as coach. Kekalainen should not have been fired for that. He should have been shot. Kekalainen is the second GM this season to part with their team, following former Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion in November. Plaintiffs allege system denies players freedom to play for team of their choice The Canadian Press A new class-action lawsuit alleges Canadian major junior hockey leagues violate antitrust laws in the United States by colluding to restrict the negotiation powers of players.
The suit was filed Wednesday in New York by the North American division of the World Association of Ice Hockey Players Unions. It alleges players are subject to systemic abuses, including the artificial reduction of compensation and conducting involuntary drafts, where a team can obtain an athlete's exclusive major junior rights without the presence of a collective bargaining agreement. The plaintiffs allege the system is "a cartel [that] artificially suppresses and standardises compensation by denying players their freedom of choice, freedom of movement and freedom to play for the club of their choice." The Canadian Hockey League and its three major junior circuits — the Western Hockey League, Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League and Western Hockey League — are named as defendants in the lawsuit. The NHL is also named as a "co-conspirator." The lawsuit alleges the NHL colludes with major junior leagues to prevent its players from finding employment in minor professional leagues like the American Hockey League or the ECHL, while those circuits actively recruit under-20 players from Europe. The lawsuit seeks an injunction to enforce the geographical draft restrictions, contracts and agreements in place, along with damages for players for compensation and from league profits. Plaintiffs are asking for a jury trial. The allegations have not been tested in court. The CHL said in a statement it had only been made aware of the complaint Wednesday, adding the World Association of Ice Hockey Players Unions has not been certified to represent any of the players in its leagues. 8 of 60 CHL clubs based in the U.S. "Until we can thoroughly review the document, we are unable to provide comment as to the legitimacy of its contents," the statement read. Eight of the CHL's 60 teams are based in the U.S. — five in Washington state, two in Michigan and one in Pennsylvania. The lawsuit alleges the three major junior leagues maintain a system that gives a league exclusive rights to recruit within a geographic territory, eliminating competition between the leagues despite being independent entities under the CHL umbrella. The competition among clubs is further reduced by the way leagues handle their entry drafts, the lawsuit claims. "In an involuntary draft, players may be drafted even if they did not apply to participate in the draft, with the end result being that the drafting club will enjoy the exclusive rights to that player for the entirety of his major junior hockey career," the lawsuit states. The lack of bargaining power for major junior players allows clubs, many of which are financially successful, to artificially reduce compensation, the lawsuit alleges. The two former major junior players part of the suit are Isaiah DiLaura and Tanner Gould. DiLaura, 23, is from Lakeville, Minn., and Gould, 19, is from Calgary. "Teenage players continue to be treated like disposable objects, just like I was," DiLaura said in a news release. "I am hoping this lawsuit will put an end to that." A $30-million settlement between the CHL, its leagues and players seeking back pay for minimum wage was reached in Canada in 2020. But judges in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta refused to sign off on the agreement. The judges objected to wording in the settlement they said was too broad and could prevent the players from pressing other legitimate claims.
Multiple people carried away on stretchers; fans urged to exit area AS quickly as possible
Heather "The Fucking Illiterate American" Hollingsworth · The Associated Press
A shooting at the end of Kansas City's Super Bowl parade left at least eight injured while sending terrified fans running for cover.
Fire Department Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins said eight to 10 people were injured but declined further comment, saying only that additional information will be released soon. Police said in a news release that two people were detained. Fans were urged to exit the area as quickly as possible. Ofilio Martinez, 48, said he heard shots fired a couple OF blocks away about 10 or 15 minutes before the gunfire near the Union Station rally. "This is making me nervous, scared," he said. (How do you think we feel, with a dirty spic like you so close to Canada?)
Kevin Sanders, 53, of Lenexa, Kansas, said he heard what sounded like firecrackers and then people running. After that initial flurry, calm returned, and he didn't think much of it. But he said 10 minutes later, ambulances started showing up. "It sucks that someone had to ruin the celebration, but we are in a big city," Sanders said. (No you are fucking not! You are the fucking 98th largest fucking city in fucking North A-fucking-merica! You are fucking smaller than fucking Hamilton, you fucking hill billy! You are fucking smaller than every fucking city in fucking Canada!) Lisa Augustine, spokesman for Children's Mercy Kansas City, said the hospital "is receiving patients from the rally." She didn't know how many or immediately offer any details about their injuries. (But a clever person would surmise they'd been fucking shot.) The University of Kansas Health System was treating one person wounded in the shooting, said Jill Chadwick, news director for the health system. She didn't know the person's condition. "When you have this many casualties, it's going to get spread out among a lot of hospitals so that you don't overwhelm single ER," she said. Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and the first lady were at the parade when shots were fired but are safe, Parson posted on X. (What the actual fuck is a fucking "first lady"? Fuck off, you fucking hill billys.) "State law enforcement personnel are assisting local authorities in response efforts," Parson posted. "As we wait to learn more, our hearts go out to the victims." Team trainer Rick Burkholder said he was with coach Andy Reid and other coaches and staff members, and the team was on buses and returning to Arrowhead Stadium. Areas that had been filled with crowds were empty after the shooting, with police and firefighters standing and talking behind an area restricted by yellow tape. (Good for them. The fucking "heroes". Suck my ass, you loser country.)
TSN.ca Staff
Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Organ Rielly will appeal his five-game suspension to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, the team announced Wednesday.
Appealing to Bettman is Rielly's only path to potentially lowering his ban, since he isn’t eligible to appeal to a neutral arbitrator as the suspension is under six games. Rielly was issued the suspension on Tuesday for cross-checking Ottawa Senators forward Ridly Greig in the dying seconds of Saturday's loss. He missed the first of the currently-scheduled five games as the Maple Leafs defeated the St. Louis Blues Tuesday night.
The NHL's player safety department announced the suspension Tuesday after meeting with Rielly virtually. The Maple Leafs blue liner was offered and accepted an in-person hearing, but was unable to reach New York due to inclement weather. It marked a first career suspension for Rielly, who made his NHL debut with the Maple Leafs in 2013. The 29-year-old was ejected from Saturday's 5-3 loss to the Senators for the cross-check. He took exception to Greig firing an uncontested slapshot into an empty Leafs' net to cement the win, skating over to him and delivering the cross-check, sparking a melee. Because he is, you know, a suck and a fucking western ballbag smoker of cock. “I don’t think you’re ever expecting the guy to come cross check you in the face. But I also am not sure if he meant to do that,” Greig said Tuesday, speaking for the first time since the incident. “It was just a lot of adrenaline," he added of the slapshot. "Just the heat of the moment. The game was an emotional game. Just got a breakaway and thought I’d bury it.” Which, apparently, is a hanging offence. Rielly is in his 11th NHL season and leads Maple Leaf defencemen with seven goals and 43 points in 50 games. The Vancouver native also leads the Maple Leafs in average ice time at 24:21. TJ Brodie, the worst defenceman in the NHL, is second on the team in average ice time, well behind Rielly at 21:46 per game. ![]() Fans in the East's playoff race wondered whether the Toronto Maple Leafs would fall off without a suspended Morgan Rielly. Tuesday night suggested that won't be the case. Especially since the Laffs went 12-2-1 without the hill billy piece of shit last season.
Anytime you give up 15 shots in a game against a team that has won seven of its previous eight, you know you’re doing something right. When you do it without your best defenceman in the line up, now that’s a chef’s kiss.
Hours after learning Morgan Rielly had been suspended five games for his cross-check to Ridly Greig of the Ottawa Senators – and minus John Tavares and Mitch Marner, who had the flu – the Leafs got contributions from up and down the line up. And their much-maligned defence corps held up just fine. Their opponents had a good transition game, but the Leafs managed to snuff out opportunity after opportunity for the Blues. They did a good job of keeping the Blues to the outside, and even though they had 44 shot attempts, only 15 hit the net. It also helps when a minor leaguer, in this case Bobby McMann, chips in with a hat trick. But it was the Leafs’ work in their own end of the ice that was the biggest concern coming in. “The game looks different,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. “You’ve got to play a little different. The mindset is a little different. There were a lot of reasons for us to take care of the game. I thought we defended well.” In the end, the Maple Leafs know there’s not much they can do about the sentence. Rielly has the right to appeal, but it would go directly to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, so there’s not a huge chance for success. “I’m not going to sit here and b---- and complain about it,” Jake McCabe told reporters. “It sucks missing one of your leaders and one of your key guys for that amount of games, but we got one win for him here tonight, and hopefully, we can continue to carry that on.” The Leafs have proven they can do just that. Since last season, they’re actually 15-2-1 without him in the line up.
No time to post today, taking pal off to medical appointments. He's my go-to ride home when I have got surgery (an un-Godly amount of times, now that I think about it). Here is some Twitter drivel:
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