Hockey thread

An arena for athletics. Post lifetime is 1 year.
Post Reply
User avatar
bubbie
Art Expert
Posts: 7771
Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2014 4:49 pm
Location: Canada

Sun Jun 24, 2018 4:35 am

Instead of a new thread every season, why not just have one hockey thread?

On that note, Kovalchuk is back to the NHL? Looks like he is signing (signed?) a three-year $18.75 mill deal with the Kings. And there were a few teams competing for the dude according to the reports. Ain't no way I would be signing him given the way he left the league.

Also, Ovi arrived to Moscow without the Cup. The dude was sleeping with it. What happened?
User avatar
bubbie
Art Expert
Posts: 7771
Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2014 4:49 pm
Location: Canada

Sun Jun 24, 2018 4:23 pm

The draft was pretty interesting and euro dominated.
User avatar
bubbie
Art Expert
Posts: 7771
Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2014 4:49 pm
Location: Canada

Sun Jul 15, 2018 5:51 pm

User avatar
bubbie
Art Expert
Posts: 7771
Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2014 4:49 pm
Location: Canada

Mon Jul 30, 2018 10:33 pm

Even more nuts...

Hey, Joe…
“At first, it seems like he’s living the life of Riley. Joe Murphy works as a laborer, when he needs money, and he sleeps in a tent in a farmer’s field, when he needs shelter.”

When I read the first paragraph of a July 7 story written by Mike Aiken on Sunday, I blinked in disbelief. Not because I had any reason to doubt Aiken was writing about the same Joe Murphy who played 779 NHL regular season games, 222 of those with the Edmonton Oilers, but because I didn’t. Still, no matter how long I stared at the photo at the top of the story and read through the item again, I couldn’t reconcile what I was reading with the Joe Murphy I knew during his time with the Oilers.

Now 50, Murphy, who earned millions of dollars during NHL stops with Detroit, who selected him first overall in the 1986 Entry Draft, Edmonton, where he won the 1990 Stanley Cup, Chicago, St. Louis, San Jose, Boston and Washington before he retired in 2001, is essentially destitute and homeless, living in Kenora, Ont. The first question that popped into my head was, “What the hell happened, Joe?” I haven’t talked to or even seen Murphy in years, so I don’t know.

What I do know — what I’ve learned over the last seven months working with The Mustard Seed, a non-profit organization that is dedicated to helping the homeless here in Edmonton — is the most important questions are, “What happens next and what can we do to reach out and help?” I don’t have those answers either. To hear Aiken tell it, Murphy can be difficult to find — he doesn’t have a permanent address, doesn’t own a phone and he hasn’t been online in years.

“He’s hanging around the coffee shops or whatever, you know the guy is in town,” Aiken, who is the news director at Q104 radio in Kenora, told me today. “He’s just out on the street.”

LONG WAY DOWN

What we do know is that Murphy has struggled physically and mentally in the aftermath of multiple head traumas, including a fractured skull, suffered during his playing career. Murphy was part of a filing by former NHL players who were seeking a class-action lawsuit against the NHL. Murphy’s filing is here. A judge ruled against allowing the players to proceed via class action this month, meaning they’ll have to take complaints to court individually.

“It’s a very serious matter, concussions,” Murphy told Aiken. “I’ve suffered a horrific, serious concussion that debilitated me for a long time. It was tough.” And later in his career: “I was getting hit, fireflies around me all the time. Just everywhere. Even at the end of my career, I’d hit a guy and then ‘boom.’ There’d be those sparkly things all over. Very difficult.”

We also know Murphy, one of the more eccentric characters you’d meet in an NHL dressing room, had issues with teammates and coach Pat Burns during his time in Boston. The Bruins suspended him without pay in 1999-2000. Murphy, former teammates will tell you, wasn’t always the easiest guy to get along with. He played parts of two seasons with Washington after the Bruins let him go, then retired after the 2000-01 season.

In September of 2017, Murphy pleaded guilty to a charge of mischief after he trashed a room in a low-budget motel in the Toronto area. He was sentenced to time served, given two years’ probation and ordered to pay $500 in restitution to the motel’s owner. To say the least, it’s been a bumpy road for Murphy, who made more than $15 million as a player, in the years since he retired. “He said he lost everything,” Aiken said.

HERE AND NOW

I don’t know where all the money went. Is Murphy receiving the NHL pension he’s entitled to without an address or even a telephone? Has Murphy sought or received help dealing with his post-concussion issues? What I do know is this is the second story in less than a year about a former NHL player being down on his luck and homeless — the story of former enforcer Matt Johnson came to light in January of this year. Many others have struggled when their playing days are over as well.

Barrie Stafford of the Oilers’ Alumni, which was so instrumental in making Hockey Helps the Homeless in Edmonton last May a big success with its participation, learned of Murphy’s fate earlier this month. He has contacted the NHL Alumni Association. HHTH holds events right across the country, including three in the greater Toronto area in support of charitable organizations. That’s a long way from Kenora, but I’m hoping we can reach out and see if something can be done, assuming we can find Joe.

I don’t know what the hell happened to Joe Murphy, but I do know that he shouldn’t be sleeping in a tent in a farmer’s field. As is the case with every single person trying to survive on the streets in Edmonton — and every city across this country — it doesn’t matter how they got where they are. No two stories are exactly the same. What really matters is what happens next, and that we reach out and try to make a difference.

Listen to Mike Aiken’s full interview with Joe Murphy, courtesy of Kenora Online and Q104 Radio.
There is an interview with Joe at the end of the article I haven't watched yet.
User avatar
guryter
Art Expert
Posts: 3854
Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2007 3:44 pm

Tue Jul 31, 2018 1:52 pm

Sobering look at cte within the nhl. Excellent look at boogaard's life and rise, and the role of the enforcer in the sport. Gives me second thoughts about fighting.......tough to see a 15 year old being told to go out and fight every game. Either way, worth a watch.
Stingers wrote:If you can't get it up eat less fudge, excersise and stop being a kitten.
john38103 wrote:All gin every thing. drymount all you hoes.
Relax, I honestly don't give a fudge.
User avatar
bubbie
Art Expert
Posts: 7771
Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2014 4:49 pm
Location: Canada

Sun Aug 05, 2018 8:09 pm

Yes, I have seen that doc before. Pretty sad what happened to the guy. Listening to others, the guys he fought with, is pretty sad fudge as well. There is another pretty good doc on the subject, but I cannot recall what it is called at the moment.

I have never been one to be overly excited about the fights. In fact, I don't think it is a big part of the game at all like many say it is. If a guy can score goals and make passes better than most in the game, but needs "protection" doing so... I am not really sure how to finish that sentence.

Like it was mentioned in the doc, is there really a place for guys like Boogaard in the League? In my opinion, there shouldn't be. Sure, a good check and aggressive play is great, but two guys breaking each others' faces and smacking their heads on the ice does not really belong in the game. Even in actual "fighting" sports participants are made to wear gloves. Also, in actual "fighting" sports, the athletes do not get their heads smacked every 2-4 days 6+ months per year.

That's my opinion anyway and has been such for a while now. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good battle on ice, but I don't think people should be paid to actually fight in the game. There should be no such role in the game of hockey, period. It is better for the game and the people themselves. Like Fedoruk (was it him? I don't remember) said in the above documentary, was it worth it? Not really.
User avatar
bubbie
Art Expert
Posts: 7771
Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2014 4:49 pm
Location: Canada

Fri Sep 14, 2018 2:09 am

Karlsson to the Sharks. And a pretty shitty trade, IMO. They should have dealt him to a better team for a better return a while back. Good for the Sharks, I guess.
spunkmonkey
Art Expert
Posts: 1355
Joined: Thu May 03, 2007 12:00 am

Fri Sep 14, 2018 1:44 pm

Zetterberg retires due to back problems. The last of the old guard. :notworthy: Also hoping The Captain comes back to the Wings front office.
User avatar
bubbie
Art Expert
Posts: 7771
Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2014 4:49 pm
Location: Canada

Wed Oct 03, 2018 11:18 pm

^ That does suck. The last of the bunch. Detroit has been my team since I can remember. The beginning of the sad days for me was when Fedorov left. He really wanted that C, I guess. Also, I was sure that he would take that Conn Smythe when they won the last Cup and something tells me so was he. Not saying that Lidstrom didn't deserve it. He definitely deserved to wear the C, no questions about it. Sad day when he retired. Then Datsuk left, but things were already downhill (to say the least). I wonder how he is doing in the KHL. Now Zetterberg is not there, so nothing is left from the old team. All those guys are from the days went they knew how to pick them. Man, what an era in Detroit. A couple of decades were as solid as they could be. The most dominating team during that time. Not only that, a straight up perfect team, the ideal all should aim for, but I have never seen anyone coming even close (not in the same era anyway and not since). Everyone that I remember who went to Detroit became a better player because of it; at least while being there, for sure.
User avatar
bubbie
Art Expert
Posts: 7771
Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2014 4:49 pm
Location: Canada

Fri Oct 12, 2018 1:57 am

Happened to watch my first game of the season today, sort of. And it happened to be Detroit vs. Toronto. Leafs are definitely lacking defense, but other than that they seemed to be fairly solid, not that I particularly give a fudge. I looked at the player stats after the game and the Leafs take the first 4 spots. Luls. Gotta be a first in the modern era. Will see how that goes further into the season. Most of my friends who follow hockey are Leafs fans. Maybe they will prove me wrong for once this season.
User avatar
guryter
Art Expert
Posts: 3854
Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2007 3:44 pm

Fri Oct 12, 2018 2:04 pm

#FJT

Maybe in 2-3 years I won't be salty about it but for right now seeing him in a leafs jersey fills me with ire.
Stingers wrote:If you can't get it up eat less fudge, excersise and stop being a kitten.
john38103 wrote:All gin every thing. drymount all you hoes.
Relax, I honestly don't give a fudge.
User avatar
63schoeffling
Art Expert
Posts: 8253
Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2012 10:52 am

Fri Oct 12, 2018 2:09 pm

Man.... hopefully the Flyers don't stink this year.

Get Hart up!!
User avatar
bubbie
Art Expert
Posts: 7771
Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2014 4:49 pm
Location: Canada

Sat Oct 20, 2018 2:24 am

Can't quote guryter's post on the new forum (the 90's theme)...

Lol. That's exactly what I told my buddy when we were watching the game. No Isles fan can be happy about that. To be fair though, the Islanders weren't moving anywhere for a while, so the dude chose what he thought was good for him. Maybe. Maybe not. Leafs suck too. They are topping the East at the the moment, however, which definitely hasn't happened for a while.

Detroit, on the other hand, hasn't won a game yet (in 7, I believe it is). What a drymounting mess. Definitely hasn't happened for a while either.
User avatar
canuck
Art Freak
Posts: 11062
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2007 10:23 pm
Location: US of A

Mon Nov 05, 2018 8:32 pm

Go Oil go!
Image
User avatar
comountaingolf
Art Expert
Posts: 9947
Joined: Mon Nov 10, 2008 6:36 pm
Location: The 19th Hole

Mon Nov 05, 2018 8:48 pm

Always down for the W I L D but I'm more of a Gophers/Bulldogs College Hockey fan. Broke my heart when the NORTH Stars made the move a year or 2 removed from the Stanley Cup finals vs Pittsburgh.

Still, the W I L D are off to a solid start. Could this finally be the year for the State of Hockey? I mean, drymount, c'mon already. we love the game :lol: :clap: :pint:

Image
Jim Carr wrote:The fans are standing up to them! The security guards are standing up to them! The peanut vendors are standing up to them!
> THC X 9 <
Post Reply