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2026 Mens Olympic Team [message #848876]	Mon, 08 December 2025 19:21

Skookum Jim
Messages: 5672
Registered: March 2006
Location: Burnaby, BC

5 Cups

So.. apparently the IOC has totally f'd up the hockey facilities in Italy..

Construction is late.. still not functional.
I criticize the NHL all the time.. but they have been after the IOC since the summer about the facilities.. and the IOC just brushed them off.. arrogant clowns that they are..

Rink is 4 ft. SHORTER than an NHL rink.. why?.. how?.. does nobody review a design drawing?

The TWO rink facilities they have built there.. are not intended to operate as rinks after the games.. so.. the ice plants they will install are TEMPORARY units .. not permenent.. so the integrity of the ice during the games is very much in question.. based on their incomptenec in building the rink the likelyhood the ice plants are undersized and will experience major operating bugs when running continuously at full capacity .. is very high.

There is real potential the NHL will refuse to play and the Olympic hockey will play somewhere else.. maybe even North America.. easier.. all the players are here alreaady. F the money grubbing IOC.

They have 8 years to build this thing and its a total F up.. should have been operating a year ago and hosting test events..

[Updated on: Mon, 08 December 2025 19:22]

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Re: 2026 Mens Olympic Team [message #848878 is a reply to message #848876 ]	Tue, 09 December 2025 07:07

Mike
Messages: 1944
Registered: August 2005
Location: Moncton, New Brunswick

1 Cup

The 4' difference - whatever. Shrink the neutral zone, no biggie IMO.

But the ice plant stuff - that is certainly a concern. Right now they are tracking to complete 3 days before the women's tournament starts. Insane. So not even any kind of soft opening. Just flip the switch and go...almost zero chance there aren't issues.

Worst case I would think they could play the hockey in other Italian cities, no? I mean I assume Turin's Olympic rink is still functional, and that is less than 2 hours away. Or even in Switzerland. I'm sure there are rinks in the area - but what a clusterF.

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Re: 2026 Mens Olympic Team [message #848881 is a reply to message #848878 ]	Tue, 09 December 2025 11:44

Skookum Jim
Messages: 5672
Registered: March 2006
Location: Burnaby, BC

5 Cups

Mike wrote on Tue, 09 December 2025 06:07

The 4' difference - whatever. Shrink the neutral zone, no biggie IMO.

But the ice plant stuff - that is certainly a concern. Right now they are tracking to complete 3 days before the women's tournament starts. Insane. So not even any kind of soft opening. Just flip the switch and go...almost zero chance there aren't issues.

Worst case I would think they could play the hockey in other Italian cities, no? I mean I assume Turin's Olympic rink is still functional, and that is less than 2 hours away. Or even in Switzerland. I'm sure there are rinks in the area - but what a clusterF.

Ideally if they have rinks available in Italy from the last Olympics there (but probaly "re-purposed" the facilities for something else.. like indoor soccer) .. You're right lots of rinks elsewhere in Europe.. closest is Switzerland (and the Swiss can be counted on for good ice!) but if you do that .. why not just stay in North America.. save the travel?

No matter where you go it'd be a challenge to find 2 decent rinks that are available to hold a 2 week world class tournament

IOC --> gong show

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Re: 2026 Mens Olympic Team [message #848971 is a reply to message #848876 ]	Fri, 12 December 2025 23:07

Skookum Jim
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Location: Burnaby, BC

5 Cups

.. watched the end of the St. Louis v.s Chicago game tonight, off a face off in the last seconds looks like Bedard might have separated his shoulder.. crap.

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Re: 2026 Mens Olympic Team [message #849283 is a reply to message #848876 ]	Wed, 31 December 2025 12:11

Skookum Jim
Messages: 5672
Registered: March 2006
Location: Burnaby, BC

5 Cups

Team Canada announced.. Bedard not on it
Wilson and Cellebrini added from last time.. as well as Horvat (w t h?)
Horvat is an awful call, mediocre wheels and skill..

Schaeffer not added on D..

They omitted these guys.. Wyatt Johnson, Scheifele, Hyman, Bennett, Blackwood in goal
Johnson and Scheifle especially are way way better than the Tampa crew.

This is Nagano level decision making by Team Canada.. just awful. Brutal

The guys I was dissappointed in from the 4 nations were Cirelli.. Marner.. Point.. Hagel.. Rheinhart.. Stone.. they didn't do much.. I was surprised they didn't live up to reputation.. I don't expect better in the Olympics.. likley much worse.. having poor seasons

Marner 9 goals... Stone 9 goals .. Cirelli 10 goals .. Point 6 goals ...

W. Johnson 20 goals .. Schieffle 18 goals (and a center) ..

They still brought Binnington.. who's having a terrible year.. (Armstrong influence?)

Seems like the coach had too big a say in who was on this team.. super Tampa heavy.. selfish.. they're hoping they can all ride in the wagon pulled by McDavid, McKinnon, Crosby to a gold medal.
FYI Team Canada management; Armstrong (St. Louis), Cooper (Tampa), Brisboise (Tampa), Cassidy (Vegas) .. I think that factored in the decisions for Cerelli, Point, Hagel, Binnington, Stone, Marner

This roster could be 25% better.. and Team Canada management is hoping they can win at 75% of best capacity.. which they sometimes do.. in spite of themselves.

Guarentee USA brings their best.

As always.. in order for Team Canada to win gold.. they must first defeat Team Canada.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9g2oOQXUAI1VxB?format=jpg&name=900x900

[Updated on: Wed, 31 December 2025 17:46]

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Re: 2026 Mens Olympic Team [message #849284 is a reply to message #848876 ]	Wed, 31 December 2025 13:07

Skookum Jim
Messages: 5672
Registered: March 2006
Location: Burnaby, BC

5 Cups

BTW .. the Olympic jerseys are butt ugly .. one of the worse yet.
The TC logo is the best ever.. why not use it.. always

Team Canada .. always out thinking themselves.. its an art form.

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[Updated on: Wed, 31 December 2025 17:36]

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Re: 2026 Mens Olympic Team [message #849317 is a reply to message #849284 ]	Fri, 02 January 2026 12:10

CrusaderPi
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Registered: December 2003
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The IOC at some point disallowed the Hockey Canada logo because it's a brand and not a national system, or something like that. I can't remember the exact reasoning. A few countries have to come up with new uniforms because of it.

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Re: 2026 Mens Olympic Team [message #849320 is a reply to message #849317 ]	Fri, 02 January 2026 20:40

Skookum Jim
Messages: 5672
Registered: March 2006
Location: Burnaby, BC

5 Cups

CrusaderPi wrote on Fri, 02 January 2026 11:10

The IOC at some point disallowed the Hockey Canada logo because it's a brand and not a national system, or something like that. I can't remember the exact reasoning. A few countries have to come up with new uniforms because of it.

Must be because the IOC can't make money off of it. Maybe the IOC figures if its the same jersey logo every Olympics.. none of the loyal fans will buy it.. they already have one.. and the IOC can't cash in on the licensing fee per jersey..

I like the logo becuase it has a great winning history.. generations of Canadians have grown up with it.. and it looks super sharp.

Canada should make that logo an official National Symbol.. like a flag.. make it an act of parliment.. icon_nod

icon_nod

We use that symbology for a lot of other sports.. just change the the person in the Leaf.. and Canada's teams have recently all used Red, Black, and white as our colours now.. all off of the TC logo.. national identity.

I don't mind some of the "3rd jerseys" .. like retro graphics.. but some of teh ones they use now.. especially for hockey are just lazy and ugly..

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Re: 2026 Mens Olympic Team [message #849289 is a reply to message #848876 ]	Wed, 31 December 2025 17:49

Skookum Jim
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Location: Burnaby, BC

5 Cups

Prediction, the forwards on this team (outside the top 5) will get criticized.. it will be too easy to shut down Team Canada goal scoring.. the other forwards will struggle to drive the play.. lock down McDavids and Crosby's line and you've given yourself a very good chance to win in one game contests.

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Re: 2026 Mens Olympic Team [message #849292 is a reply to message #849289 ]	Wed, 31 December 2025 20:07

Kr55
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Registered: May 2002
Location: Edmonton

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What is parayko doing on this team? Dude has had endless injuries and is having one of his weakest seasons ever. Armstrong just couldn’t help himself.

"We need to get better immediately. That starts today"
- Lowe, 2013

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Re: 2026 Mens Olympic Team [message #849303 is a reply to message #849292 ]	Wed, 31 December 2025 22:15

Skookum Jim
Messages: 5672
Registered: March 2006
Location: Burnaby, BC

5 Cups

Kr55 wrote on Wed, 31 December 2025 19:07

What is parayko doing on this team? Dude has had endless injuries and is having one of his weakest seasons ever. Armstrong just couldn’t help himself.

.. a lot of vested interests running the show..

I'm already getting flash forwards of Team Canada unable to score except for heroics from 97, 87, 29 and Cellebrini.. don't see a lot of goals coming from anyone else.. oh wait.. I think management are hoping "The Committee" is going to score the goals.. my mistake.

Month and a half away.. I only need one gold medal from the winter Olympics.. Mens Hockey

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Re: 2026 Mens Olympic Team [message #849310 is a reply to message #849303 ]	Thu, 01 January 2026 09:30

Adam
Messages: 7651
Registered: August 2005
Location: Edmonton, AB

6 Cups

Looking at the defence further - the brass clearly doesn't really value point production from the blueline (bafflingly).

Here's the top eight scorers among Canadian defencemen this year:

Makar 45*
Bouchard 37
Morrissey 30*
Chychrun 30
Raddysh 29
Dobson 27
Rielly 25
Schaefer 25

How do the guys they did take stack up?

Theodore 20 (9th)
Sanheim 17 (17th)
Harley 14 (25th)
Doughty 13 (T-29th)
Toews 13 (T-29th)
Parayko 11 (38th)

So what are the criteria?

Time on ice? Probably not. Only Makar, Sanheim and Morrissey are top-10 in the league there.
+/-? Nope. Only ones in the top ten are Makar, Toews & Doughty.
Scoring since 2020-21? Makar still tops and Morrissey is 2nd, but after that only Theodore and Toews are even in the conversation.

This feels like Armstrong grabbing his guy and the group just going by archetype after that. These aren't the best Canadian defencemen - not by a long shot. But they're the kind of defencemen that old hockey guys think SHOULD be the best.

"Thinking that a bad team's best players are the reason the team is bad is the "Tambellini re-signing Lennart Petrell" of sports opinions." @Woodguy55
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Re: 2026 Mens Olympic Team [message #849311 is a reply to message #849310 ]	Thu, 01 January 2026 14:19

Skookum Jim
Messages: 5672
Registered: March 2006
Location: Burnaby, BC

5 Cups

Adam wrote on Thu, 01 January 2026 08:30

Looking at the defence further - the brass clearly doesn't really value point production from the blueline (bafflingly).

Here's the top eight scorers among Canadian defencemen this year:

Makar 45*
Bouchard 37
Morrissey 30*
Chychrun 30
Raddysh 29
Dobson 27
Rielly 25
Schaefer 25

How do the guys they did take stack up?

Theodore 20 (9th)
Sanheim 17 (17th)
Harley 14 (25th)
Doughty 13 (T-29th)
Toews 13 (T-29th)
Parayko 11 (38th)

So what are the criteria?

Time on ice? Probably not. Only Makar, Sanheim and Morrissey are top-10 in the league there.
+/-? Nope. Only ones in the top ten are Makar, Toews & Doughty.
Scoring since 2020-21? Makar still tops and Morrissey is 2nd, but after that only Theodore and Toews are even in the conversation.

This feels like Armstrong grabbing his guy and the group just going by archetype after that. These aren't the best Canadian defencemen - not by a long shot. But they're the kind of defencemen that old hockey guys think SHOULD be the best.

Defence is less of a problem for me.. I can see why you'd want a pair that play together in Makar and Toews.. Theodore is good.. Harley has talent and can skate.. guys I question is Doughty, Sanheim and Parayko .. Parayko and Doughty maybe for veteran presence.. Sanheim I've never noticed.. even in the 4 nations.. Shaefer and Dobson probably bring more over Sanheim..

The real problem I have is with the offence..

Cirelli doesn't belong.. full stop
Hagel, Point, Reinhart, Marner, Stone were all mediocre in the 4 nations.. I was surprised how ineffective they were.. there's a reason we had to win the 4 nations from a McDavid OT goal.. only the top 4 guys could put the puck in the net.. the rest of the Florida crew sucked swamp water.. except Bennet.. and they left him off the team..

Suzuki and Horvat will turn out the same.. they standout on teams with weaker forwards.. but against elite skaters and bigger size.. which are the other countries best players.. they'll wilt.

This smells like a Nagano level Team Canada roster .. Trevor Linden, Rob Zamuner, R Brindamour, K Primeau .. Bottom 6 guys that couldn't score to save their life.

This team should have been built around speed, skill and compete.. elite speed being an absolute requirement

We'll all have to hope the top two lines can't be shut down (the Latvian/Swiss manouvre) and instead.. can fill the net to compensate for the ineptness of the rest of the forwards

[Updated on: Thu, 01 January 2026 14:33]

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Re: 2026 Mens Olympic Team [message #849309 is a reply to message #849292 ]	Thu, 01 January 2026 09:14

Adam
Messages: 7651
Registered: August 2005
Location: Edmonton, AB

6 Cups

Kr55 wrote on Wed, 31 December 2025 20:07

What is parayko doing on this team? Dude has had endless injuries and is having one of his weakest seasons ever. Armstrong just couldn’t help himself.

Apparently Jon Cooper was given a promise that he'd get to pick some number of the players - and voila! Hagel and Cirelli (!!!) make the team.

So would not surprise me at all if Armstrong is just picking a couple of Blues to come along too, whether deserving or not.

I suppose we can't complain TOO much. Brewer and Smyth were probably the weakest inclusions on the 2002 team - so this has been going on forever.

I would not have Cirelli, Horvat, Sanheim or Parayko on the team if it were me. Probably not Binnington too - given how bad he's been this year. That said, the team should still be the favourite for gold. And I don't mind less Oilers going to Milan - if Bouchard and Hyman aren't on the squad, that's less chance of them getting hurt for the playoff run here.

"Thinking that a bad team's best players are the reason the team is bad is the "Tambellini re-signing Lennart Petrell" of sports opinions." @Woodguy55
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Re: 2026 Mens Olympic Team [message #849312 is a reply to message #849309 ]	Thu, 01 January 2026 21:41

Kr55
Messages: 12335
Registered: May 2002
Location: Edmonton

6 Cups

Adam wrote on Thu, 01 January 2026 09:14

Kr55 wrote on Wed, 31 December 2025 20:07

What is parayko doing on this team? Dude has had endless injuries and is having one of his weakest seasons ever. Armstrong just couldn’t help himself.

Apparently Jon Cooper was given a promise that he'd get to pick some number of the players - and voila! Hagel and Cirelli (!!!) make the team.

So would not surprise me at all if Armstrong is just picking a couple of Blues to come along too, whether deserving or not.

I suppose we can't complain TOO much. Brewer and Smyth were probably the weakest inclusions on the 2002 team - so this has been going on forever.

I would not have Cirelli, Horvat, Sanheim or Parayko on the team if it were me. Probably not Binnington too - given how bad he's been this year. That said, the team should still be the favourite for gold. And I don't mind less Oilers going to Milan - if Bouchard and Hyman aren't on the squad, that's less chance of them getting hurt for the playoff run here.

Need some kind of hockey tournament that operates on aggregate scoring. I wanna see a team canada that is made up to just go balls out offensive with all 4 times and 3 D pairs just trying to run the score up as much as possible all game long. Never allowed to see anything like that. Always gotta set ourselves up for the grind.

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- Lowe, 2013

"Next year I would forecast as another developmental year"
- MacT, 2015

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Re: 2026 Mens Olympic Team [message #849362 is a reply to message #848876 ]	Mon, 05 January 2026 23:40

Skookum Jim
Messages: 5672
Registered: March 2006
Location: Burnaby, BC

5 Cups

Broberg makes the Sweden Olympic Team..

.. imagine what a fast, large, puck carrying defenceman could do for the Oilers..

What cudda been..

A big FU to Holland.. Jackson .. who caused the offer sheet.. and Bowman.. who could have matched.

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Re: 2026 Mens Olympic Team [message #849365 is a reply to message #849362 ]	Tue, 06 January 2026 09:07

Adam
Messages: 7651
Registered: August 2005
Location: Edmonton, AB

6 Cups

Skookum Jim wrote on Mon, 05 January 2026 23:40

Broberg makes the Sweden Olympic Team..

.. imagine what a fast, large, puck carrying defenceman could do for the Oilers..

What cudda been..

A big FU to Holland.. Jackson .. who caused the offer sheet.. and Bowman.. who could have matched.

To be fair, I don't think Jackson & Bowman had a great set of choices. By the time they're on the scene, Broberg is already sick of "over-ripening" and has asked for a trade from the team. He wasn't going to be excited about returning and wanted to play somewhere else by then.

It's kind of crazy actually - Holland left other more highly-rated prospects on the board to pick Broberg (can you imagine if we'd had Caufield's shot playing with 97 or 29?) and then just never showed much faith in that bet, always keeping him at the periphery. For Jackson & Holland, they had to make decisions on a couple of players who only a season worth of NHL games under their belt (81 for Broberg, 89 for Holloway). The management could have looked to re-sign them much earlier too and never made any effort.

As bad as Lowe, Tambellini, MacTavish and Chiarelli all were, Holland may be the worst GM we've had. He had the best players, in their absolute prime, and he just dithered and blundered his way through his five years here.

"Thinking that a bad team's best players are the reason the team is bad is the "Tambellini re-signing Lennart Petrell" of sports opinions." @Woodguy55
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Re: 2026 Mens Olympic Team [message #849386 is a reply to message #849365 ]	Wed, 07 January 2026 08:47

inverno76
Messages: 2525
Registered: September 2005
Location: Prince Albert, Saskatchew...

2 Cups

Adam wrote on Tue, 06 January 2026 09:07

Skookum Jim wrote on Mon, 05 January 2026 23:40

Broberg makes the Sweden Olympic Team..

.. imagine what a fast, large, puck carrying defenceman could do for the Oilers..

What cudda been..

A big FU to Holland.. Jackson .. who caused the offer sheet.. and Bowman.. who could have matched.

To be fair, I don't think Jackson & Bowman had a great set of choices. By the time they're on the scene, Broberg is already sick of "over-ripening" and has asked for a trade from the team. He wasn't going to be excited about returning and wanted to play somewhere else by then.

It's kind of crazy actually - Holland left other more highly-rated prospects on the board to pick Broberg (can you imagine if we'd had Caufield's shot playing with 97 or 29?) and then just never showed much faith in that bet, always keeping him at the periphery. For Jackson & Holland, they had to make decisions on a couple of players who only a season worth of NHL games under their belt (81 for Broberg, 89 for Holloway). The management could have looked to re-sign them much earlier too and never made any effort.

As bad as Lowe, Tambellini, MacTavish and Chiarelli all were, Holland may be the worst GM we've had. He had the best players, in their absolute prime, and he just dithered and blundered his way through his five years here.

I think people apologize too much for ol'Kenny.

He did sign Hyman, made a great trade for Ekholm, acquired a depth guy who played up the lineup in Kulak, and took a flyer on Kane, but his mishandling of prospects like Broberg, bringing in Wright to head up amateur scouting, signing Campbell, The Nurse extension (overpaying for Keith in a trade contributed to this), 2-2nd's for Abdelkader, not re-upping Holloway far outweigh anything positive he did in his time in Edmonton.

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Re: 2026 Mens Olympic Team [message #849389 is a reply to message #849386 ]	Wed, 07 January 2026 10:34

Kr55
Messages: 12335
Registered: May 2002
Location: Edmonton

6 Cups

inverno76 wrote on Wed, 07 January 2026 08:47

Adam wrote on Tue, 06 January 2026 09:07

Skookum Jim wrote on Mon, 05 January 2026 23:40

Broberg makes the Sweden Olympic Team..

.. imagine what a fast, large, puck carrying defenceman could do for the Oilers..

What cudda been..

A big FU to Holland.. Jackson .. who caused the offer sheet.. and Bowman.. who could have matched.

To be fair, I don't think Jackson & Bowman had a great set of choices. By the time they're on the scene, Broberg is already sick of "over-ripening" and has asked for a trade from the team. He wasn't going to be excited about returning and wanted to play somewhere else by then.

It's kind of crazy actually - Holland left other more highly-rated prospects on the board to pick Broberg (can you imagine if we'd had Caufield's shot playing with 97 or 29?) and then just never showed much faith in that bet, always keeping him at the periphery. For Jackson & Holland, they had to make decisions on a couple of players who only a season worth of NHL games under their belt (81 for Broberg, 89 for Holloway). The management could have looked to re-sign them much earlier too and never made any effort.

As bad as Lowe, Tambellini, MacTavish and Chiarelli all were, Holland may be the worst GM we've had. He had the best players, in their absolute prime, and he just dithered and blundered his way through his five years here.

I think people apologize too much for ol'Kenny.

He did sign Hyman, made a great trade for Ekholm, acquired a depth guy who played up the lineup in Kulak, and took a flyer on Kane, but his mishandling of prospects like Broberg, bringing in Wright to head up amateur scouting, signing Campbell, The Nurse extension (overpaying for Keith in a trade contributed to this), 2-2nd's for Abdelkader, not re-upping Holloway far outweigh anything positive he did in his time in Edmonton.

It's funny because how we went after Hyman was the exact same thought process that had him go after Campbell. Shiny object on the UFA market, outbid everyone else for it. It's really just dumb luck that Hyman worked out. Holland has a looooooong list of getting players that way that were complete disasters in Detroit. And Hyman's looking as great as he does is largely because he plays with McDavid so much. On many other teams, his contract would be seen as questionable still. So McDavid was here to make Holland look good for once on a UFA pickup.

I would probably reduce Holland's great moves to Ekholm, who was a cap dump by Nashville and was struggling that season playing with a young D. He was expendable by Nashville with McDonaugh being brought in and Nashville's supreme confidence they can just draft/develop more good D at will, and it didn't actually seem like that many teams were going after him, maybe because of his age. The rumor was that Holland's son convinced him to go after him. So lots of luck on Holland's side on that one too.

Lots of shuffling with bottom 6 players that every other GM does, although Bowman and JJ have combined to do an even worse job lately.

Really, that's a horrid resume for a 5M x 5 year GM. Compare to the low paid GM we passed on that beat us in the finals twice, who has a long list of nailing trades and waiver pickups over and over and over for 4 years in a row to create his cup winner. It's pretty sad. But hey, Kenny got another job anyways!

[Updated on: Wed, 07 January 2026 10:41]

"We need to get better immediately. That starts today"
- Lowe, 2013

"Next year I would forecast as another developmental year"
- MacT, 2015

5 x $5,000,000

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Re: 2026 Mens Olympic Team [message #849390 is a reply to message #849389 ]	Wed, 07 January 2026 11:32

Mike
Messages: 1944
Registered: August 2005
Location: Moncton, New Brunswick

1 Cup

Kr55 wrote on Wed, 07 January 2026 13:34

It's funny because how we went after Hyman was the exact same thought process that had him go after Campbell. Shiny object on the UFA market, outbid everyone else for it. It's really just dumb luck that Hyman worked out. Holland has a looooooong list of getting players that way that were complete disasters in Detroit. And Hyman's looking as great as he does is largely because he plays with McDavid so much. On many other teams, his contract would be seen as questionable still. So McDavid was here to make Holland look good for once on a UFA pickup.

I'm not Holland fan, and I wasn't excited about the Hyman signing - thought it was just another Leaf being talked up more than he was worth.

But regardless of linemates, you have to give Holland at least a bit of credit for it. Hyman has been almost a PPG player in his time here, a 50 goal campaign, and in last year's playoffs he elevated to a whole other level. Probably the 3rd best player on the team. Had the most hits of anyone in the playoffs by a mile when he got hurt. Still finished with the most with only 15gp. I really believe if we had him in the finals we would have won a Cup the way he was playing.

Anyway - I'm all in for crapping on Holland for almost all of his moves, but to me, this one was a homerun.

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Re: 2026 Mens Olympic Team [message #849392 is a reply to message #849390 ]	Wed, 07 January 2026 12:33

Kr55
Messages: 12335
Registered: May 2002
Location: Edmonton

6 Cups

Mike wrote on Wed, 07 January 2026 11:32

Kr55 wrote on Wed, 07 January 2026 13:34

It's funny because how we went after Hyman was the exact same thought process that had him go after Campbell. Shiny object on the UFA market, outbid everyone else for it. It's really just dumb luck that Hyman worked out. Holland has a looooooong list of getting players that way that were complete disasters in Detroit. And Hyman's looking as great as he does is largely because he plays with McDavid so much. On many other teams, his contract would be seen as questionable still. So McDavid was here to make Holland look good for once on a UFA pickup.

I'm not Holland fan, and I wasn't excited about the Hyman signing - thought it was just another Leaf being talked up more than he was worth.

But regardless of linemates, you have to give Holland at least a bit of credit for it. Hyman has been almost a PPG player in his time here, a 50 goal campaign, and in last year's playoffs he elevated to a whole other level. Probably the 3rd best player on the team. Had the most hits of anyone in the playoffs by a mile when he got hurt. Still finished with the most with only 15gp. I really believe if we had him in the finals we would have won a Cup the way he was playing.

Anyway - I'm all in for crapping on Holland for almost all of his moves, but to me, this one was a homerun.

Yeah, don't get me wrong, I love Hyman. But just saying if it was a 28 year old David Clarkson that was playing with Marner/Matthews going to UFA that year, Holland would have done the exact same thing and outbid the Leafs for him.

Holland's history pretty clearly shows to me there is not that much deep analysis or foresight of chemistry that he's pursuing players for. He's just looking for shiny objects and if he has a hole in his lineup to fill, he would blow all his cap space on the shiniest most hyped up thing he can afford, ideally without having to to the hard thing of negotiating with another GM for it, since we know you can never squeeze another GM.

Maybe I'm being a bit petty, but I just refuse to give that much credit for dumb luck. When a guy is doing the same thing over and over and finally gets a hit on the 10th try, and then proceeds to fail again and again on even more attempts, it kinda kills some of the credit they should get for the 1 hit.

Another way to frame it. If you were hiring a GM right now and were evaluating Holland's performance. You see that he kept signing UFA's every summer to try to fill gaping holes he never seems to fill in his lineup (he also badly overpays his own overrated UFA's of course), but that one time he landed Hyman, and then of course does Campbell right after. How much credit would you give him on your GM scorecards for that Hyman signing? I would give very little personally. UFA signings in general would be near the bottom of my list of important GM skills. Drafting, trading, development (not trading players away right before they break out for someone else, or devaluing them badly with poor development/opportunity). Those kinds of things way ahead.

[Updated on: Wed, 07 January 2026 13:54]

"We need to get better immediately. That starts today"
- Lowe, 2013

"Next year I would forecast as another developmental year"
- MacT, 2015

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Re: 2026 Mens Olympic Team [message #849394 is a reply to message #849392 ]	Wed, 07 January 2026 14:31

Adam
Messages: 7651
Registered: August 2005
Location: Edmonton, AB

6 Cups

I tend to agree that Hyman is as much luck as skill...plus the Oilers didn't convince him to come here for less or anything - he got a monster contract. I also tend to agree that if he had gone to most other places that contract wouldn't look nearly as good now. He has played his entire tenure with the Oilers next to McDavid or Draisaitl and on PP1. He should get some credit - he's figured out how to play with them and he's made the most of opportunities. We've seen when others are in the spot that it's not automatic that the 5th guy on that PP gets a bunch of points. But I agree that Kenny just had a bag of money that summer, so was in a hurry to spend it on the shiniest toy he could find and then get to the cabin. And that whenever else he tried to do that in his time here, he failed.

I do think Chiarelli gives him a run for his money as the worst ever because the Hall and Reinhart deals were so incredibly bad. Even HE KNEW when he did it that the Hall one was bad and so while being more tight-lipped generally, he looped in Stauffer and Rishaug to try to run cover for him there. He had his fair share of bad signings too - and didn't get much for discounts there either. Lucic of course, but overpays for many depth players, the buyout of Gryba, etc etc etc...there were lots of issues. He and Holland are 1A/1B for me.

Holland has what none of the rest of them had though. McDavid and Draisaitl in their prime for pretty much his entire tenure here. Despite that, he takes the better part of three years to even agree that the Oilers have a shot at the Cup. He never gets a good goalie at any point, going with Smith/Koskinen for most of that period, and then moves to Campbell/Skinner. With the exception of Ekholm, his deadline adds are all really underwhelming. I'm not someone who rues trading draft picks for rentals, but you'd like to hope that some of them make some impact. Here's a run-down of everyone we got at a deadline in his time here:

2020 - Ennis, Green, Athanasiou
2021 - Kulikov
2022 - Kulak, Brassard
2023 - Ekholm
2024 - Henrique, Stecher (Stecher was damaged goods and unavailable for all but 7 regular season games)

I mean, Kulak was steady but the rest barely move the needle. Most people probably forgot that someone like Brassard was even ever on the team. Those generally weren't moves that got us over the hump or made us more competitive against the Colorados and Vegases.

With the benefit of hindsight, his drafting was pretty terrible and included some massive misses with 1st rounders.

When you also throw in the fact he was, for most if not all of his time here, the highest paid GM in hockey? He's a complete disaster.

That MacTavish, who in his first months as GM hired the worst Oilers coach of all-time and destroyed the confidence of his future-Vezina nominated goaltender, isn't in the top two conversation is incredible. MacT's tenure is ridiculous. Getting so little for Hemsky, Petry and even Horcoff because he telegraphed his every intention through the press. Loading pressure on guys like Schultz by awarding him the future Norris after his rookie year. Allowing his coach to completely destroy the trade value of guys like Yakupov before moving them for nothing. Declaring the goaltending box "checked" after getting Ben Scrivens and Victor Fasth...he's got such a short tenure compared to most, but man...he made the most of his time.

Tambellini - I have ranked higher up as his dithering served a useful purpose. He didn't make any mind-numbingly stupid trades. His worst sins are things like trading for only Jerrod Smithson at the deadline when the team was in a playoff position for the first time in 5 years and he knew Hemsky was skating on a broken foot. He was not good, but he didn't trade the best players for a bag of pucks.

Lowe probably the best of the Bad Batch, simply because of 2005-06 and the incredible run of savvy moves he made in building that team. He probably should get SOME of the blame of what follows with the ensuing GMs as his fingers are always all over the team but he wasn't specifically in that chair which muddies the water and gives him a little cover. Still some unbelievable moments there - the Comrie holdout and trade to Anaheim/Philadelphia looms really large.

In short, congrats everyone on staying fans for so long. That's a level of dedication that's nothing short of spectacular. We're all suckers for punishment, I guess.

"Thinking that a bad team's best players are the reason the team is bad is the "Tambellini re-signing Lennart Petrell" of sports opinions." @Woodguy55
#FireBobbyNicks

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Re: 2026 Mens Olympic Team [message #849388 is a reply to message #849365 ]	Wed, 07 January 2026 10:31

mightyreasoner
Messages: 555
Registered: October 2005
Location: Edmonton

No Cups

Adam wrote on Tue, 06 January 2026 09:07

As bad as Lowe, Tambellini, MacTavish and Chiarelli all were, Holland may be the worst GM we've had. He had the best players, in their absolute prime, and he just dithered and blundered his way through his five years here.

I think that has to be revisionist. Chiarelli was shockingly awful. Like "set the franchise back years" awful.

Holland was bad. Tambellini was bad. Lowe was bad. MacTavish was bad. But Chiarelli was a disaster.

Probably my (putrid) ranking, worst to least worst:

Chiarelli
Tambellini
Holland
Lowe
MacTavish
Jackson

Verdict is still out on Bowman. He hasn't been amazing. The Frederic deal is going to continue to haunt us long after Bowman is gone.

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Re: 2026 Mens Olympic Team [message #849400 is a reply to message #848876 ]	Thu, 08 January 2026 10:44

Kr55
Messages: 12335
Registered: May 2002
Location: Edmonton

6 Cups

Binnington pumped for 7 goals last night. Refused to come out of the net.

Hofer, out of respect for his senior, actually went down the tunnel to hide to help Binnington stay in the net, lol. Maybe it was more out of fear of Binnington.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G-HrHycaAAAFhmJ?format=jpg&name=small

Armstrong so badly wants to use our Olympics to get his Blues team back on track and give Binnington a reset. Hopefully Keumper and Thompson are ready to step in.

[Updated on: Thu, 08 January 2026 10:49]

"We need to get better immediately. That starts today"
- Lowe, 2013

"Next year I would forecast as another developmental year"
- MacT, 2015

5 x $5,000,000

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Re: 2026 Mens Olympic Team [message #849402 is a reply to message #849400 ]	Thu, 08 January 2026 11:13

Adam
Messages: 7651
Registered: August 2005
Location: Edmonton, AB

6 Cups

What the actual...???

That's really bizarre. It feels like the relationship between the coach and goalie is not super-healthy there.

Maybe Hofer saw how poorly the team was playing and feared going in goal behind that?

"Thinking that a bad team's best players are the reason the team is bad is the "Tambellini re-signing Lennart Petrell" of sports opinions." @Woodguy55
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Re: 2026 Mens Olympic Team [message #849404 is a reply to message #849402 ]	Thu, 08 January 2026 12:01

Kr55
Messages: 12335
Registered: May 2002
Location: Edmonton

6 Cups

Adam wrote on Thu, 08 January 2026 11:13

What the actual...???

That's really bizarre. It feels like the relationship between the coach and goalie is not super-healthy there.

Maybe Hofer saw how poorly the team was playing and feared going in goal behind that?

It's too funny.

Good video of here of Montgomery actually waving at Binnington to come to the bench, but then looking around and noticing his backup is missing.

https://x.com/GinoHard_/status/2009135361750929780?s=20

"We need to get better immediately. That starts today"
- Lowe, 2013

"Next year I would forecast as another developmental year"
- MacT, 2015

5 x $5,000,000

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Re: 2026 Mens Olympic Team [message #849408 is a reply to message #849404 ]	Thu, 08 January 2026 13:23

CrusaderPi
Messages: 8121
Registered: December 2003
Location: Downtown Edmonton

6 Cups

Kr55 wrote on Thu, 08 January 2026 12:01

Adam wrote on Thu, 08 January 2026 11:13

What the actual...???

That's really bizarre. It feels like the relationship between the coach and goalie is not super-healthy there.

Maybe Hofer saw how poorly the team was playing and feared going in goal behind that?

It's too funny.

Good video of here of Montgomery actually waving at Binnington to come to the bench, but then looking around and noticing his backup is missing.

https://x.com/GinoHard_/status/2009135361750929780?s=20

What a wild turn for the Blues. They fired Drew Bannister, former Oiler, 6 months / 22 games after signing him to a FIVE year deal because they really wanted Montgomery. Now, 13 months into Montgomery's tenure he's completely lost control over his headcase (my opinion) goalie?

Please do not feed the bears. Feeding the bears creates a dependent population unable to survive on their own. Bears.

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Re: 2026 Mens Olympic Team [message #849407 is a reply to message #849400 ]	Thu, 08 January 2026 13:22

Skookum Jim
Messages: 5672
Registered: March 2006
Location: Burnaby, BC

5 Cups

Kr55 wrote on Thu, 08 January 2026 09:44

Binnington pumped for 7 goals last night. Refused to come out of the net.

Hofer, out of respect for his senior, actually went down the tunnel to hide to help Binnington stay in the net, lol. Maybe it was more out of fear of Binnington.

Armstrong so badly wants to use our Olympics to get his Blues team back on track and give Binnington a reset. Hopefully Keumper and Thompson are ready to step in.

.. or.. maybe Armstrong is using the Olympics to try and pump up Binnigton's value before he dumps him at the trade deadline.. "Gold Medal Winning Goaltender" has a better ring and marquee value than a team's backup goaltender who will miss the playoffs with a 0.870 SV%

nah.. that's too cynical

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