Matt Dumba shouldn't be in Arizona

Free agency is almost at it's end this NHL offseason, with the most recent big name to get a new address being Matt Dumba, who will now be a Arizona Coyote. That's a bummer, not only for me, a Wild fan, but I think also for a lot of the teams in the NHL.

During the bubble, during a time of great civil discord in the Twin Cities and the nation at large, Dumba proved himself to be a leader not only for the hockey team, but for the sport. He was given a voice and didn't shrink from the spotlight. At the time, he represented what we all wanted hockey to be.

In  that time, and really ever since, Dumba was clearly on his way out in Minnesota, the victim of a tight cap situation, thanks to the presence of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter's albatross contracts, and a need to preserve some of the offensive talent the team had. 

It's not surprising that he left the Wild, as his talent and veteran status meant he was no longer a fit in Minnesota. It is disappointing that he ended up in Arizona. Dumba is a voice from within the game that needed to be heard by players and fans. In Arizona, he'll just be another player that nobody really cares about. Dumba ending up anywhere else was a better outcome. He will be muffled in Arizona

I watch the convoluted cap system of the NBA, or the designated player system in soccer, and wish there was a way to work around the NHL cap like there was in those leagues. If teams could keep their own players for lesser values against the cap that might help. So might not having a team in Glendale any longer.

Dumba, I hope, will be a great veteran peace in an Arizona team that will struggle a lot, before he turns into a trade deadline chip at the end of the year. I also hope that next year, he gets the multi year deal he deserves. For now though, it stinks.

Won't anyone think of Chuck Fletcher?

 For many NHL roles, the best way to get a new job is to have held that job in the past. Look at the front office executives and head coaches that are recycled after previous stints with other teams ended in disaster. 

There seems to be a little bit of new blood every once in a while, and when it happens, it's noteworthy. When general manager Chuck Fletcher was let go by the Flyers, he was replaced by Danny Briere. I remember Briere as a player, which means he is young, or I am getting old. I assume the former. 

Don't worry about Chuck, though. He's through his second NHL GM gig, after some stops as an assistant along the way. He's practically guaranteed himself another opportunity, perhaps with the next role that opens up this summer. Chuck Fletcher will be fine.

One of the jobs that opened up was in Pittsburgh, where Fletcher served as an assistant GM before he moved on to Minnesota. Kyle Dubas, president of the Penguins decided to take on the mantle of General Manager as well. He did that n Toronto, so even though it wasn't a traditional path, at least Chuck Fletcher, and his FletchFans (tm) can rest easy knowing that the job was kept in the "former GM" family. 

That left Edmonton, who is always good for a retread. No matter the situation, the Oilers are going to hire someone who had middling success somewhere else. It's hard to get people to move to Edmonton in the winter, so one might generously think that getting Ken Holland to town, now as the team president, was a coup. Former Wild and Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher seemed right in the Oilers' hiring wheelhouse.

Well, the Oilers hired Jeff Jackson, former agent for Connor McDavid to be their new GM. We're living in a new era, readers. You can't just assume that you will hop to another job when you are dismissed from your previous upper management role. You might just have to take on the role as part of expanded responsibilities, or *gasp* you might just be new blood. 

Sorry, Chuck. The world is changing. It can't last, though. Enjoy running the local arena in New Jersey this winter and come back ready for 2024. The Sabres are probably going to need you before too much longer. 

Tweet of the Moment

Was there any doubt? pic.twitter.com/EnIcjKtPrO

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) July 10, 2023

Twitter got rid of Tweetdeck in a usable format, which is just one of the many things that has rendered Twitter unusable to someone like me. Really and truly, Twitter's utility now is only because Brands are using it, people still have it set up to push published posts online and lists are still a thing to corral those brands and their posts. If there is an easy way to track the social media commentary from all NHL franchises, please let me know, because right now, Twitter is it. It's the only reason to be on Twitter, and you should absolutely not spend any more time there. I don't even have access to the BarryMelroseRox account anymore, but these posts will show up on Post.news and Mastodon, both @Rhinoandcompass. If Threads ever figures things out (like a chronological timeline, for example) maybe I'll get there too.

But anyways, Milan Lucic has a new number.

A new hockey league is what we need

 It feels like a new era, in so many ways. If you were or are on Twitter, you are probably scrambling to a new service that seems familiar. If you want my opinion, I like Post.news and Mastodon for the news with a reengagement of readers to keep up with sites and blogs that I like. Threads seems like it is winning out right now, but also brings my internet life a little bit too close to my personal life, and I would like to keep those two at arm's length. In the end, I think it is going to be like the transition from cable to streaming. One firehose of too much information to a diffuse amalgam of sources. 

For us here in the hockey space, we are also seeing an important change, and I'm not just talking about the Connor Bedard era coming to Chicago. Existing women's hockey leagues have announced that they are ceasing operations, all in an effort to support a new women's hockey league that is expected to have close support from the NHL. There is a players association that is in agreement with the future leadership of the league. The shiny, marketable components of the league (like, say, its name or franchises) are not available yet. It's existence is confirmed, however. 

There has been a rolling surge in interest in women's sports. The WNBA has the most successful resume in women's sports in North America. It should be noted that the best basketball players in the US have supplemented income by playing overseas, but the league has been mostly stable since it's inception, and has a growing fan base. Part of this is because players in the league have had the WNBA as an aspirational goal since their youth, and gifted athletes have stuck with it. 

Soccer was the next sport that saw overwhelming support from fans, and brought about the NWSL. For a while, the women's game was actually more influential, more popular than the men's game, and after some trauma and scandal is reaching a similar level of stability. With the women's World Cup coming later this summer, it is sure to get a boost. 

Couple that with sports like gymnastics or tennis, where the women's version of the sports are the more popular, the point I am trying to make is that investors needn't fear sinking money into women's sports any longer, especially ones with the following of hockey in North America.

The US plays Canada in every international competition in the women's gold medal game, and it is usually fairly well appreciated. The girls hockey tournament in Minnesota is extremely popular. There are enough women ready to play the game and there are more in the queue for the next generation. With the infrastructure of the NHL and eager investors behind it, the time is right and the success is there for the taking.

The NHL Draft, where dreams come true

 The NHL calendar is set up slightly differently than the rest of the sports world. The season just endd a couple of weeks ago when Vegas defeated Florida for the Stanley Cup, and now starting tomorrow, we will have the NHL draft. Free agency will then explode on the 1st, last a couple of days, and then be over. After that, the offseason is pretty quiet, without a lot of prolonged intrigue.

For the league, the hot and heavy business of the free agency period has a much more immediate impact on teams, and really on interest in the league. I love hearing about trades and free agency, don't you? For the players, though, there will be no more significant moment than the one when they hear their name called on draft night. None of the trades or contracts come until after you have been drafted (usually). The draft is where dreams come true.

That's right, for at least a few young men, their prayers will be answered when they are told they have to move to Columbus.

Tweet of the Moment

"We are sad to see Brock go... he was a great asset to our organization, and we know he will help lead Notre Dame to continued success."

After one season leading the #Canes AHL affiliate, Sheahan returns to his alma mater @NDHockey ☘️ https://t.co/IrPsCcq6Bv

— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) June 20, 2023

We have arrived in the offseason, and that means we are the beginning phases of roster reorganization. Among the first teams to undergo the first wave of personnel churn is the Carolina Hurricanes, who lost AHL coast Brock Sheahan to Notre Dame. I have no additional analysis to this, except to say that I can't think of a more perfect name than "Brock" for the type of person I hae in mind when I think of Notre Dame.

Let's pretend I know what I was talking about

 Back in October, I had some thoughts:

The league seems to be very Eastern Conference heavy going into the year, and picking a winner there will be tricky. I'm going to lean into the Florida Panthers, who made a leap last year, and then spent the entire summer firming up their roster. They are going to be good again in 2022, and if my hunch that the Lightning are going to be flat is correct, they should have an inside track on the Atlantic. I don't trust the 'Canes, Rangers or Maple Leafs, so I guess the Panthers are where it's at for me.

 Pretty good, right? I mean, I did say the Panthers were going to win it all in 6, which they can't do, now down 3-1. That's clearly the biggest flaw in this post. 

Well, even in this paragraph, I don't mention the Bruins at all in a post about Eastern Conference contenders. That's not great. They had a pretty decent year. I did pick playoff teams for all the rest though, so I'll take points there! 

Oh, and I didn't include comments about the Western Conference. I highlighted, let's see, the Wild and the Blues. Wow. But I did say the Oilers were going to be good! Of course, I did also suggest that the champion from the Western Conference would be the Calgary Flames.

Not my finest hour. It's fine, I've only been doing this for like 10 years.