Nichols' Notes
/Compelling look from The New York Times’ Jeff Z. Klein at how hockey helmets could be on the verge of getting a radical makeover – all in the name of hopefully reducing the rate of concussions. Virginia Tech scientists and engineers will be testing hockey helmets soon and could release ratings (using the STAR system, as seen with football helmets) for around 30 models in the fall or winter.
“It’s probably early to say what this will lead to,” said Pierre-Luc Beauchamp, a product developer for CCM. “Obviously, when there’s new knowledge, then we look at it, and we try to make the best product possible to achieve the best potential.
“Does more padding actually mean fewer concussions?” Beauchamp asked. “That’s still not clear. But the more the science advances, the better the products will be because we’re following it.”
Via Jim Matheson of The Journal:
There’s a good chance the 1984 Stanley Cup champion Oilers squad, the first of their five Cup teams, will be saluted here sometime this season on the 30th anniversary of the championship.
Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Paul Coffey, Glenn Anderson and Grant Fuhr have had their numbers retired and have been honoured here, but it will be nice to see unsung Cup helpers such as Willy Lindstrom, Pat Conacher, Pat Hughes, Don Jackson and Jaroslav Pouzar — who no longer live in Edmonton — at a celebratory weekend or a game.
Kevin Lowe, Lee Fogolin, Dave Hunter, Randy Gregg and Dave Lumley have lived here for years.
Benoit Pouliot tells The Journal’s Jim Matheson that New York Rangers GM Glen Sather touched base with the forward after signing his five-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers.
“Glen called, left a message and said ‘good luck, you’ll enjoy it.’ He said it was a good place to be. Coming from Glen, that was big. He’s a great man and treated me very well,” Pouliot said.
Pouliot welcomes the Canadian hockey market mentality.
“I did play in Montreal for two years. Loved it. Loved the pressure,” he said.
New Toronto Maple Leafs assistant GM Kyle Dubas was interviewed on Sportsnet 590 Tuesday afternoon.
In each and every interview today, and there have been many, the 28-year-old has come across as articulate, intelligent and knowledgeable about the game of hockey. While much of the media and fan attention surrounding Dubas following his hire has been concentrated around his work with analytics and how this will represent a positive shift in thinking for the Leafs, the under-emphasized characteristic of Dubas from my perspective seems to be the reasonable way he’s able to convey his methodology.
The hiring of Dubas into the realm of the NHL (let alone a massive hub like Toronto) could, in my opinion, be one of the most positive developments to help accelerate the acceptance of advanced stats.
This train of thought on analytics from Dubas is particularly relevant and seems to be a shining example of why he’ll be so good for this movement.
“You know, and having had the chance the last couple of years to talk to a lot of people in hockey who I really respect that were pretty skeptical of this – once you get past the broad term of ‘analytics’ and that it’s just going to be numbers-based, and you explain the actual theory behind it and get away from the numerical side of it, I find that the door just kind of opens wide. And it’s ‘Oh, okay – I never thought of it that way because it’s never been presented to me that way before.’
That’s kind of the way that the dialog runs on it... . I think if you aren’t abrasive with it and you communicate it properly, I think a lot of people who previously maybe didn’t because of the way it was communicated can see good value in some of the things that are tracked.”
Rangers winger Chris Kreider should come away with a two-year deal in the worth an average of between $2.2 million and $2.7 million, according to Larry Brooks of The New York Post. Arbitration is set for Wednesday and the team submitted $2.05 million per, while the player went with $2.8 million per.
Derick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello have their arbitration cases set for next week and negotiations continue with both camps for long-term deals.
The Denver Post's Adrian Dater has the rundown of the Ryan O'Reilly arbitration situation with the Colorado Avalanche. Two NHL sources confirmed to Dater that O'Reilly's camp seeks a $6.75 million award, while the team has countered with $5.525 million. O'Reilly chose the one-year option, rather than a two-year pact.
ICYMI, Dater went in-depth on this matter a few days ago. Really good read.
San Jose Sharks forward Logan Couture joined Sportsnet 590 on Tuesday morning.
How much does it motivate a team to have a teammate like Joe Thornton, who has been good for a long time, but hasn't reached that peak or that glory moment yet?
"Yeah, I know it motivates myself. Jumbo takes a lot of heat when the team isn't successful. It usually falls on his shoulders. Obviously I don't agree with that. We win as a team, we lose as a team, as cliche as that is. One person isn't going to win a championship. Jumbo, I've seen first-hand how good of a player he is and he's been so good over the playoffs the last couple of years where he doesn't the heat that he's taken. Obviously it was tough the way we finished last year, but I'm really hoping that this summer guys build off of it and we come back a lot stronger, a lot hungrier from what happened to us."
How different is this offseason for you? You were up 3-0 on the Los Angeles Kings, and two months later they're winning the Cup.
"It's probably the toughest loss that I've been through. Before that, it was our loss in the Conference Finals against Vancouver. It's just pretty devastating. It's really stuck with me the whole summer. It's been a tough summer for me personally. I'm still recovering from hand and wrist surgery, so I've had a lot of time to sit around and think about it. I'm going to try and use it as motivation, as tough as it is. But yeah, thinking back to where we were and what happened in the next couple of months, it's devastating."
On Tomas Hertl:
"He's a special kid, special player. He brings a type of youthful energy to the rink every day where he's just happy to be playing hockey. He's happy to be in the NHL. He's happy to be traveling to a new city, playing in front of new fans and a new building that he's never been to before. Yeah, when I think of Tomas I just think of a big smile. He always seems to smile. Unfortunately his season was kind of cut short there by a dirty hit, but he was able to come back and play in the playoffs. I'm hoping he's able to recover this summer and get ready to go."
Is there a little bit of Logan Couture in Tomas Hertl?
"I don't know. I wouldn't know what... we're different. I think we're different players. But the same type of excitement I think exists in both of us."