Has Tkachuk toned back the “rat” type play these playoffs? They were talking about it on 32 thoughts. I haven’t watched a second of Florida hockey these playoffs.
Has Tkachuk toned back the “rat” type play these playoffs? They were talking about it on 32 thoughts. I haven’t watched a second of Florida hockey these playoffs.
Those goofs called him a rat?
If they if he's been great, he sure has.
Did they discuss if Edmonton is going to tone down, the diving, the whinning, the post game press conferences begging for penalties?
Has Tkachuk toned back the “rat” type play these playoffs? They were talking about it on 32 thoughts. I haven’t watched a second of Florida hockey these playoffs.
Both he and Bennett have matured in their play. That's lost in the discussions bemoaning them moving away. Their games are different than when they were here. Bennett has largely lost his tunnel vision. Tkachuk no longer gets goaded as easily (people talk about how he got into opponents heads when he was here, but it was often the reverse).
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I'd have to say Maurice sat them down after LAST year and said heres where you can immediately become better
Pick your spots. Yeah play hard but don't hurt this team by putting our opponents on the powerplay.
Draw penalties but dont skate into scrums . No more face washing, no more big reverse checks at center ice, don't wake up the opposition and their fans.
Just . Play. Hockey. After the whistle skate away. Unless your defending yourself or a team mate. Skate away
Lomberg I can guarantee got this speech but it didn't register and he's sat as a result.
Tkachuk talked about the buy in ....and that's what he's done. He's not the In team and he's not what Kobe said either....I know there is no I in team but I'm sure there's a me in that MFer.
I hope he wins ..he and Bennett playing the way it should be played. I'm just sorry they didn't figure it out when they were here.
It's also one of Sutters biggest rules. No one player is more important than the rest of this team.
Over the years we've seen that BS in thr locker room and sometimes it doesn't get shut down fast enough.....the James Neal syndrome.
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Boston sports show talking about the Finals. Some really great stuff, including wanting to trade McAvoy and Pasta for Brady...
(Paraphrased) "Get me a Tkachuk. I don't care if he's a winger or a center. I don't care if he's a right or left shot. Just get me a Tkachuk. Get me one of those Tkachuk dicks on this team, and just let them go at each other. Florida Boston, let's go. Do you think they let up on each other? I bet they've been trying to electrocute each other since they were six years old."
Lots of good stuff here, one of them is cheering for McDavid, but the other two (all three are Bruins fans) are Team Florida. Lots of insight on markets and viewership and why the NHL is finally not caring about trying to get soccer moms to watch, etc etc.
One of the real problems here is that I teach Elementary school, and there are a solid portion of kids who are growing up McDavid/Oilers fans. I've heard a lot of talk lately about the Oilers and staying up to "watch the game". Even some of the teachers at my school have been wearing Oilers jerseys these last few weeks in an attempt to indoctrinate and brainwash. It's embarrassing. Aren't we supposed to be helping these kids know what's right and wrong?
Have my Flames flag hanging proud at my door and I make sure to #### talk any little twerp who looks like they might be an Oilers fan who walks by. Even the ones who might not be wearing any Oilers regalia but appear to be a little "Edmontonian" in nature, if you know what I mean.
Go Panthers.
Elementary students have at least a few teeth missing at a given point in time, so don't they all look like little Edmontonians?
From today's Athletic - in an article about who fans in all the other NHL cities should cheer for:
"And that brings us to the Flames, a team that the more alphabetically astute readers will have noticed we skipped along the way. I’ve saved them for last, because I don’t think there’s a tougher call in the league.
First things first: Rooting for Edmonton is never, ever an option. The Battle of Alberta is by far the Flames’ greatest rivalry, and has been for multiple generations. It’s one of the great rivalries in the sport, period, and it’s one that’s absolutely coated with bad blood. No self-respecting Flames fan would ever cheer for the Oilers to win a free coffee in Roll Up The Rim, let alone the Stanley Cup. It’s not even up for discussion.
That said, the other option is Matthew Tkachuk, who quit on the Flames in 2022. He forced his way out of town, pushing the Flames into making a blockbuster trade that they now regret. He didn’t want to play in Calgary, then immediately took a discounted deal to commit to Florida, of all places. And, by the way, he did all that after being an absolute bust of a playoff performer in Calgary, a detail that gets skipped over now that we’ve all anointed him as the league’s next great postseason stud. As a Flame, he was supposed to be the franchise, but he never lived up to it. Then he quit, using his leverage to mess up his ex-team on the way out. Now, Calgary fans have to watch the hockey world throw flowers at this guy?
Mix in Sam Bennett doing a discount version of the same act, and how do you root for the Panthers, even knowing that their win would make Edmonton fans sad?
We have to pick one. Those are the rules. I’ve been doing this column for years, hundreds of picks in all, and it’s always one of the two teams. It would take something cataclysmic for me to ditch that longstanding rule. But from a Calgary fan’s perspective … you know what, I think this qualifies.
Pick: For the first time in the history of this column, I’m refusing to make a pick and instead suggesting that Flames fans just sit this one out entirely"
From today's Athletic - in an article about who fans in all the other NHL cities should cheer for:
"And that brings us to the Flames, a team that the more alphabetically astute readers will have noticed we skipped along the way. I’ve saved them for last, because I don’t think there’s a tougher call in the league.
First things first: Rooting for Edmonton is never, ever an option. The Battle of Alberta is by far the Flames’ greatest rivalry, and has been for multiple generations. It’s one of the great rivalries in the sport, period, and it’s one that’s absolutely coated with bad blood. No self-respecting Flames fan would ever cheer for the Oilers to win a free coffee in Roll Up The Rim, let alone the Stanley Cup. It’s not even up for discussion.
That said, the other option is Matthew Tkachuk, who quit on the Flames in 2022. He forced his way out of town, pushing the Flames into making a blockbuster trade that they now regret. He didn’t want to play in Calgary, then immediately took a discounted deal to commit to Florida, of all places. And, by the way, he did all that after being an absolute bust of a playoff performer in Calgary, a detail that gets skipped over now that we’ve all anointed him as the league’s next great postseason stud. As a Flame, he was supposed to be the franchise, but he never lived up to it. Then he quit, using his leverage to mess up his ex-team on the way out. Now, Calgary fans have to watch the hockey world throw flowers at this guy?
Mix in Sam Bennett doing a discount version of the same act, and how do you root for the Panthers, even knowing that their win would make Edmonton fans sad?
We have to pick one. Those are the rules. I’ve been doing this column for years, hundreds of picks in all, and it’s always one of the two teams. It would take something cataclysmic for me to ditch that longstanding rule. But from a Calgary fan’s perspective … you know what, I think this qualifies.
Pick: For the first time in the history of this column, I’m refusing to make a pick and instead suggesting that Flames fans just sit this one out entirely"
I disagree with their notion that Tkachuk never lived up to being a franchise player here. We never gave him the keys. We never allowed him to become a franchise player. We told him to change his game and tone down his personality, while refusing to let him take over.
Florida welcomed him and all that he is. They opened the door and Barkov himself gave him a copy of his own keys to the kingdom. They allowed the team to be remolded around Tkachuk's style of play. The back to back Finals Panthers are not Huberdeau's perimeter Panthers... they're Tkachuk's in-your-face, drive the net and fight you at center ice Panthers.
Barky and co. welcomed him in and welcomed the change he brought. In turn, he adapted his game and matured with the newly acquired responsibility that being a real leader brings.
You listen to Barkov talk about Tkachuk, and he says things like "Chucky's a real leader on this team. In the room and on the ice, his impact has been huge for us."
Listen to Tkachuk talk about why they've been successful, and he says "100% buy-in from everyone on this team. The way we play is very hard to play, but we like to think it's even harder to play against."
We didn't get that Tkachuk here because we didn't want that Tkachuk here, and that's why Tkachuk didn't want to be here. Florida was willing to become a villain-esque team that no one wants to play against, and they brought in a Darth Vader to make it happen.
All that aside, though, the real answer to the question in the article is 100% Florida, because "f### Edmonton" supercedes literally anything else. I don't care what the parameters are, the answer is always anyone but Edmonton.
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From today's Athletic - in an article about who fans in all the other NHL cities should cheer for:
"And that brings us to the Flames, a team that the more alphabetically astute readers will have noticed we skipped along the way. I’ve saved them for last, because I don’t think there’s a tougher call in the league.
First things first: Rooting for Edmonton is never, ever an option. The Battle of Alberta is by far the Flames’ greatest rivalry, and has been for multiple generations. It’s one of the great rivalries in the sport, period, and it’s one that’s absolutely coated with bad blood. No self-respecting Flames fan would ever cheer for the Oilers to win a free coffee in Roll Up The Rim, let alone the Stanley Cup. It’s not even up for discussion.
That said, the other option is Matthew Tkachuk, who quit on the Flames in 2022. He forced his way out of town, pushing the Flames into making a blockbuster trade that they now regret. He didn’t want to play in Calgary, then immediately took a discounted deal to commit to Florida, of all places. And, by the way, he did all that after being an absolute bust of a playoff performer in Calgary, a detail that gets skipped over now that we’ve all anointed him as the league’s next great postseason stud. As a Flame, he was supposed to be the franchise, but he never lived up to it. Then he quit, using his leverage to mess up his ex-team on the way out. Now, Calgary fans have to watch the hockey world throw flowers at this guy?
Mix in Sam Bennett doing a discount version of the same act, and how do you root for the Panthers, even knowing that their win would make Edmonton fans sad?
We have to pick one. Those are the rules. I’ve been doing this column for years, hundreds of picks in all, and it’s always one of the two teams. It would take something cataclysmic for me to ditch that longstanding rule. But from a Calgary fan’s perspective … you know what, I think this qualifies.
Pick: For the first time in the history of this column, I’m refusing to make a pick and instead suggesting that Flames fans just sit this one out entirely"
It really shouldn't be that hard. Winning isn't going to make me forgive Tkachuk but it's the lesser of two evils.
The Oilers (especially this year's version) winning the Cup would be a travesty to the sport of hockey.
I'm talking to some of my manager or owner friends of bars in town, and I'm trying to convince one to be a Florida bar for the playoffs. They are concerned it will isolate Oilers fans and there's more of them than Panthers fans. I think there's more Calgary fans cheering against Edmonton.
Would anyone here support a Florida bar for the finals? Actual serious question.
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Oilers barely touched the puck last night...zero PP goals in the series and it goes six. Dallas choked big time, Ottinger made 8 saves yesterday. If the Panthers drive the net they will win....and I cant see them not doing it.
It seemed like Dallas ran out of gas to me. They just didn't have the legs. I'm not taking anything away from the Oilers; they've beaten the teams to get there. That just wasn't the same Dallas team that I saw against Colorado.
I'm talking to some of my manager or owner friends of bars in town, and I'm trying to convince one to be a Florida bar for the playoffs. They are concerned it will isolate Oilers fans and there's more of them than Panthers fans. I think there's more Calgary fans cheering against Edmonton.
Would anyone here support a Florida bar for the finals? Actual serious question.
Hell yeah I would. It doesn't even have to be a Florida bar. Tell them to be a "not-Oilers" bar, and I bet their business skyrockets during the finals (and then whether they get a continued business-spike because of that is up to how good their establishment/staff/etc is).
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It seemed like Dallas ran out of gas to me. They just didn't have the legs. I'm not taking anything away from the Oilers; they've beaten the teams to get there. That just wasn't the same Dallas team that I saw against Colorado.
I'm not convinced that Edmonton would have been able to beat Tampa, Boston and the Rangers though. Those teams were a far cry from LA and Vancouver... and maybe a not quite as far but still far cry from Dallas.
