It sucks that there are all these injuries for both teams (seems like even more for the US). Would like to be able to say at the end of this tournament, win or lose, that each team had the chance to ice the best team they could - poor roster decisions aside. I know it’s just a part of the game - just like playoffs.
Would rather see both sides completely healthy and loaded up for this game. I see the excuses for Canadians, if they lose, being no Theodore, Crosby playing injured, Makar is still sick. And for the Americans, it will be Tkachuks are playing injured, Hughes not playing and no McAvoy.
It will still be an incredible game though. Excited for Thursday to see how they follow up the Saturday game. Would be hilarious to see star players (Eichel vs McDavid) fight each other instead of the normal guys you expect to fight. Won’t happen of course but would be funny.
Avoidance of injury is like skating fast, preventing passes, positioning properly, or shooting targets. It’s demonstrably a repeatable skill.
It just should have had expanded rosters - sticking with an NHL size roster was always foolish.
25 man rosters, 14 forwards, 8 dmen, 3 goalies.
Maybe some veterans wouldn't have wanted to go, but I'm sure guys like Bedard and Celebrini would have had no issues being the 14th forwards on this roster and learning from guys like Crosby, Mackinnon, and McDavid.
And I think they should let Hughes play - he was on the official roster before Sanderson anyways - if he's feeling ready to go now then let him.
It feels like the press/exposure this tourney has got in the U.S. is a huge victory for the NHL. I've seen major talk shows/podcasts covering this tournament (the Canada/U.S. game) and the sentiment is the NHL has absolutely nailed it.
For a league that hasn't made too many clever marketing decisions over the years, this appears to be a home run.
Seravalli on Barn Burner called this a happy accident for the NHL who were apparently concerned of all the political talk going on as the tournament began.
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It feels like the press/exposure this tourney has got in the U.S. is a huge victory for the NHL. I've seen major talk shows/podcasts covering this tournament (the Canada/U.S. game) and the sentiment is the NHL has absolutely nailed it.
For a league that hasn't made too many clever marketing decisions over the years, this appears to be a home run.
They talked about it for a while on the PGA broadcast on Sunday, so that's a good indication of coverage.
I think Seravalli was hinting at an idea where if the US team had 2 injured forwards, but only one injured defenceman, could they bring in Hughes as the replacement? Not sure if it would be the best move overall as it would likely mean running a roster of 11 forwards but I’m just wondering if they would be ok with the league?
