given the fantastic breadth of size, speed in today's game I didn't think it was possible to have a player that can separate himself from his peers. I was very wrong. When's the last time the NHL had a player that is so dominant ? I mean create from seemingly nothing. I'd say Lemieux.........................this guy's ability to function at ridiculous speed is flat out fuckin' nuts. How many highlight reel goals has he scored or assisted on and he's only 22?
Gritty makes birthday wish come true for 4-year-old fan battling cancer
All Jack Callahan wanted for his fourth birthday was a visit from Gritty.
The little boy is a big Gritty fan -- but he’s also a brave little kid. The Virginia native is currently fighting metastatic cancer that started in his pelvis and has since spread to his lungs. In June, he began getting on and off treatment at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He starting getting full time care there in August.
“He’s got a positive personality has a good sense of humor and he’s just fun to be around even though he’s very sick," Jack’s dad, Mike Callahan, told Fox 29. “He doesn’t know he’s sick.”
In September, Jack wrote a letter to Gritty with the help of his parents. It began with “I love you, Gritty."
The letter went on to tell the Philadelphia Flyers mascot that Jack wanted to be him for Halloween and that he wanted a Gritty cake for his birthday on Oct 30. And Gritty delivered
Jack's dictated note:
"Dear Gritty,
I love you, Gritty. My name is Jack Patrick Callahan. I am three years old. I am from Charlottesville, Virginia. I am in the hospital in Philadelphia. I want to be you for Halloween. I want a Gritty cake for my birthday, too. My birthday is October 30th. I love you. Where are you from? What food do you like to eat? I am your biggest fan in the world, and I love you."
The Philadelphia Flyers mascot came to the Ronald McDonald House in Philadelphia to celebrate Jack’s fourth birthday on Oct. 30. The party included the requested Gritty cake, courtesy of Whipped Bake Shop. There was also Gritty-themed gifts and lots of silly string. Jack even wore his own Gritty costume to meet his hero.
..........
CHOP's third-floor oncology unit has 50 dedicated beds, including a 15-bed stem cell transplant unit. Several of the young friends and fellow cancer patients the Callahans have met in Charlottesville and Philadelphia during Jack's treatments have since died from their illnesses.
"There's a part that's a little overwhelming," Emily said. "We also feel -- guilt isn't the right word -- but a part of us feels badly about drawing attention to Jack when there are so many other kids. At the same time, with all that he has gone through, if we can do something to make him smile, we're going to do it."
After several group photos, a round of floor hockey as well as Pin the Googly Eyes on the Gritty, and a piñata take-down with plastic bats and hockey sticks, Gritty and his team gathered their gear. Jack blew several kisses at Gritty, who blew them right back. As the mascot waved goodbye, the group broke into chants of, "Grit-ty! Grit-ty!"
"Where did Gritty go?" Jack asked a few moments later, as he walked around the room, surveying his gifts and blowing on his party horn as the other attendees exited.
"Gritty had to go back to work, but he said that we can write him a letter and that he'll write us back," Emily told Jack. "You can be pen pals."
That evening, Gritty posted several photos from the party to his Instagram account, writing: "When pen pals become real pals -- Happy Birthday, Jack!"
'There are few things better than seeing a professional athlete give back to their community.
With Veterans Day just around the corner in the United States, Sidney Crosby did just that on Friday afternoon. The Pittsburgh Penguins superstar decided to donate the brand-new 2019 Honda Passport that he won for being named the 2019 NHL All-Star Game’s Most Valuable Player to a veteran in the community.
There likely isn’t anyone better to receive it than Madeline Malizio.
The 28-year-old has been an Army Specialist for the past five years and is going to school for legal studies. On top of that, she’s a single mother to a three-year-old son, Maverick.
Before Friday, she didn’t have a car.
Upon hearing her story, Crosby decided to change that.'
:toast:
With Veterans Day just around the corner in the United States, Sidney Crosby did just that on Friday afternoon. The Pittsburgh Penguins superstar decided to donate the brand-new 2019 Honda Passport that he won for being named the 2019 NHL All-Star Game’s Most Valuable Player to a veteran in the community.
There likely isn’t anyone better to receive it than Madeline Malizio.
The 28-year-old has been an Army Specialist for the past five years and is going to school for legal studies. On top of that, she’s a single mother to a three-year-old son, Maverick.
Before Friday, she didn’t have a car.
Upon hearing her story, Crosby decided to change that.'
:toast:
3:15'...lol
Pegged Drasaitl wrong, sure he gets to play with Connor pumps the point tally, but this guy deserves his due. SOLID.
SAN JOSE -- Matching the energy of an ethereal talent isn't something every player can do. That is why playing on Connor McDavid's wing is a daunting task.
"It's the time and space you have to give him, to get him the puck in full flight. I think that's maybe what some guys struggle with," Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl, a frequent McDavid linemate, told ESPN on Monday. "The window for getting him the puck, because he's so fast, is probably a lot smaller than every other guy in the league. On the other hand, that makes him very dangerous. If you do get him the puck in that spot, there's a very good chance he'll create something out of it."
Draisaitl, 24, leads the Oilers in goals, with 14 through 19 games. He leads the Oilers in points, with 34. Ask those around the Edmonton orbit, and they'll tell you he has been a smidge better -- and more valuable -- than McDavid so far this season.
But with the Oilers off to a torrid start, leading the Pacific Division with a 12-5-2 record, McDavid gets the lion's share of the credit.
This is understandable: At 22 years old, McDavid has three 100-point seasons and a career 1.31 points per game average. He does things with the puck the likes of which the NHL has never seen. It's his highlight-reel goals that get passed around like hors d'oeuvres on social media. He's the franchise. It's his team. It's McDavid and Draisaitl -- not the other way around.
This is just the way it works in the NHL. Mark Messier and Jaromir Jagr didn't write their legends until they were out of the shadows of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, respectively. To put it in modern NHL terms, McDavid is the Sidney Crosby, and Draisaitl is the Evgeni Malkin. Crosby has gotten MVP votes the past seven seasons. After winning his only Hart Trophy in 2012, Malkin hasn't received one in six of seven seasons. He won that Hart in a season when Crosby was limited to 22 games.
That Sid and Geno comparison draws a laugh from Draisaitl.
"You know ... I don't know," he said, smiling. "I'd be stupid to say that I don't want to win the [individual] trophies. Of course I do. Every player wants to win that. But me and him are not competitive in any way. We're competitive in a way where we want to make each other better, where we expect the most and the best out of each other. But if he scores three goals, I'm happy for him. If I score two goals, he's happy for me. It's a healthy competition, and we love playing with each other."
So far, Draisaitl is winning the competition with McDavid on the score sheet. Through 19 games, he's the top scorer in the NHL, with 1.79 points per game, ahead of Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak's 1.76 in second place. Draisaitl is second in the race for the Rocket Richard Trophy through Tuesday, one goal behind Pastrnak. His 50-goal, 105-point campaign last season moved him from the category of very good to among the elite goal-scoring wingers in the league.
What caused the 21-goal improvement on his previous career high?
"I worked on my shot. I worked on things in practice. I had some success with it," he said. "Different positions, different game situations where the puck might not be in your wheelhouse but you still have to get it off. Little things like that."
He said that as a young player, it's something you have to learn. "Just sticking with it and trying to find your own way of putting the puck in the net," he said. "I watch every player out there and take cues from every player in the league. They're world-class. Better than anyone else. So I just try [to] mix those into my game while staying my own player."
Does he check the scoring leaderboard?
"I read about it," he said. "It's cool, of course. But we've played 20 games. That's a long way from playing in the playoffs. That's the key. It's a team sport. I'm just trying to help the team win."
Draisaitl and McDavid have done more than help: 72.8% of the Oilers' goals this season have been scored with at least one of them on the ice. But Draisaitl balks at the idea that they're dragging the Oilers up the standings.
"I don't know if we're carrying the team. We've won games this year when me and him haven't been at our best. Other teams have stepped up, so we have other guys stepping up every night," he said. "Our job is to produce, put goals on the board for us. But we have other guys that contribute a lot."
Coach Dave Tippett said breaking up the duo and putting them on different lines -- which hasn't happened much in his first season as Edmonton's head coach -- is on his mind.
"There's always a temptation. You go into every game, and you look at how you're going to win. So in some games, they're going to play apart in certain spots. They'll play on the power play, 4-on-4, 3-on-3 ... they'll get plenty of time together," he said. "But they understand that if they do play apart, it's to try and help us win."
They've played more than 1,552 minutes together in all situations the past two seasons; Draisaitl has played more than 741 minutes without McDavid. Together, they earn 59.0% of the shot attempts, 60.9% of the scoring chances and 65.6% of the goals scored. They are as dominant a duo as the NHL currently offers.
"My job is to find him in that right spot. Get him the puck when he wants it, on the tape, hard and flat. Try to find him at full speed," Draisaitl said. "We've built some chemistry over the last couple of years. We read off each other really well."
Tippett thinks it's because Draisaitl has the perfect build to be McDavid's wingman.
"His ability to play a big man's game with that skill is pretty unique," he said.
"When I coached Connor at the World Cup [of Hockey in 2016], we were looking for a winger to play with him. Auston Matthews was our 13th forward. Big, strong guy. Moves the puck well. Shoots the puck well. We tried a few different guys, but Auston clicked right away. When I watched video of Leon, he reminded me a little bit of that Matthews mold. Connor can play give-and-go a little bit, but Leon's a great shooter when he gets opportunities to score. He plays a unique game."
Before McDavid ascended to the level of hockey deity, he used to be compared to Matthews. But Draisaitl vs. Matthews analysis has arrived in waves, in particular since the Leafs star signed his new contract earlier this year and his output was compared to that of the Oilers' other standout.
Contracts are an interesting topic for Draisaitl. In 2017, he signed an eight-year deal worth $68 million. Critics jumped on then-GM Peter Chiarelli for what was perceived as an overpayment for the 21-year-old; consider that the only second contracts that eclipsed it at the time were signed by McDavid, Alex Ovechkin, Crosby and Malkin. It was seen as too much too soon. Some pundits wondered if it was a harbinger of Draisaitl's eventually being traded by Edmonton, for both the cap space and the bountiful return.
What a difference two seasons make. Draisaitl is now a 50-goal scorer with an $8.5 million cap hit, a number since eclipsed by second contracts for Matthews (five years, $11.634 million average annual value), Mitch Marner (six years, $10.893 million AAV), Jack Eichel (eight years, $10 million AAV) and Mikko Rantanen (six years, $9.25 million AAV). Yesterday's overpayment can rapidly become today's bargain in professional sports -- until they aren't anymore, as Draisaitl is quick to note.
"I mean, give me one bad month, and you guys will all say that I'm overpaid," he said. "It is what it is. You obviously try to live up to your contract and make the most of it. But I know how it is, and I don't try to read too much into it."
Reading too much into a good stretch from the Oilers has led to disappointment through Draisaitl's six seasons in the NHL. He understands that because he has made an effort to understand the fans and the city in which he plays.
For example: Draisaitl has pledged $1.2 million in charitable donations to Edmonton and Alberta causes over an eight-year span.
"It's about being committed to a community," he said. "It's my home for a good part of my life. I want to build a relationship with the city, build something special. Not just leave without having given anything back because they give us a lot.
"The people that support us spend a lot of money to watch us -- and to watch us be not very good for a lot of years. Obviously, it's nice to give them that back. They want our team's success more than anything in this world. We're working toward that."
Right now, Draisaitl and McDavid are doing the heavy lifting.
McDavid is lightning in a bottle. Best player out of Ontario since lindros. I’m a huge Barzal fan however speed goes to Connor all day. Barzal is a god darn surgeon in traffic his stick skills over the top. I often think hot dog but he makes it happen .
we dont see folks laying big hits on star players much anymore but Zack Kassian just levelled MacKinnon....in a battle of 2 top Western teams at the end of 1............... Edmonton 4, Colorado 1.
McDavid has 4 pts. How do you defense this guy?
20 games in and the Oilers lead the Pacific? ...hey Mr Dave Tippett (<)<
McDavid has 4 pts. How do you defense this guy?
20 games in and the Oilers lead the Pacific? ...hey Mr Dave Tippett (<)<
bye bye Babcock
the fall guy. Not a fan of Babcock but this shit aint all on him, the Leafs have had injuries all year and have no depth. They have gone from a team that was 4 lines deep to a team with nearly no depth whatsover and ......no grit. The fall of the Leafs happened when they showed the door to Lou Lamoriello. CRINGED when that happened. Put all their eggs in 33 yr old GM K Dubas. The Leafs have dropped 40 million dollars on 4 players, lol. Mitch Marner , a small sized winger is making $10,000,000/yr. LMAO .
well with Babcock gone the Leaf's overpaid star players will definitely get more ice time. Was nuts watching Babcock consistently rolling 4 lines...heck, down 2-1 6 min left? no problem put the 4th line on...they havent scored in a month . face)(*^%
the fall guy. Not a fan of Babcock but this shit aint all on him, the Leafs have had injuries all year and have no depth. They have gone from a team that was 4 lines deep to a team with nearly no depth whatsover and ......no grit. The fall of the Leafs happened when they showed the door to Lou Lamoriello. CRINGED when that happened. Put all their eggs in 33 yr old GM K Dubas. The Leafs have dropped 40 million dollars on 4 players, lol. Mitch Marner , a small sized winger is making $10,000,000/yr. LMAO .
well with Babcock gone the Leaf's overpaid star players will definitely get more ice time. Was nuts watching Babcock consistently rolling 4 lines...heck, down 2-1 6 min left? no problem put the 4th line on...they havent scored in a month . face)(*^%
Good riddancebye bye Babcock
the fall guy. Not a fan of Babcock but this shit aint all on him, the Leafs have had injuries all year and have no depth. They have gone from a team that was 4 lines deep to a team with nearly no depth whatsover and ......no grit. The fall of the Leafs happened when they showed the door to Lou Lamoriello. CRINGED when that happened. Put all their eggs in 33 yr old GM K Dubas. The Leafs have dropped 40 million dollars on 4 players, lol. Mitch Marner , a small sized winger is making $10,000,000/yr. LMAO .
well with Babcock gone the Leaf's overpaid star players will definitely get more ice time. Was nuts watching Babcock consistently rolling 4 lines...heck, down 2-1 6 min left? no problem put the 4th line on...they havent scored in a month . face)(*^%
oh yeah,...............he has a good resume, no doubt. Has won a Cup, 14 playoff appearances , a few International trophies coaching a stacked Team Canada lineup ....but from what i've seen first hand the last 4 yrs? Nope, pass, get out of Dodge. Honestly , i think he has a loose screw . Stuck in ways and wont bend, adapt ...........Three yrs ago, first round of the playoffs. Up and coming nothing to lose yuong fast Leaf team vs a tight Washington Capitals , they were ripe for yet another early playoff exit at least as the series was playing out. Game 6 must win on home soil-- into OVERTIME and this guy was still matching Kadri's line with Ovie. Wanted Kadri on Ovie, Wash., started to shorten their bench Ovie is a horse , can handle it-- Kadri coulnt. Our yougn guns were getting less ice time as a result- its OVERTIME , ya need to SCORE A FCUKIN GOAL AND THIS DUDE IS worried about matching lines!!!!! ...lost. Let's not even talk about the last two yrs Vs the Bruins.
bye bye Babcock
the fall guy. Not a fan of Babcock but this shit aint all on him, the Leafs have had injuries all year and have no depth. They have gone from a team that was 4 lines deep to a team with nearly no depth whatsover and ......no grit. The fall of the Leafs happened when they showed the door to Lou Lamoriello. CRINGED when that happened. Put all their eggs in 33 yr old GM K Dubas. The Leafs have dropped 40 million dollars on 4 players, lol. Mitch Marner , a small sized winger is making $10,000,000/yr. LMAO .
well with Babcock gone the Leaf's overpaid star players will definitely get more ice time. Was nuts watching Babcock consistently rolling 4 lines...heck, down 2-1 6 min left? no problem put the 4th line on...they havent scored in a month . face)(*^%
About time. This team is way to talented to not be at the top of the standings.
Babcock is going to have a hard time finding a HC position in the NHL....Leafs were paying him $5mill /yr, not like he needs a job
https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/mike-babcock-coaching-franzen-chelios-1.5381813
[h=1]Former Red Wings Chelios, Franzen accuse Mike Babcock of 'verbal assault'[/h][h=2]Hall of Famer Chelios said ex-coach verbally attacked Franzen on bench during playoff game[/h]
[FONT="]Former Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock is coming under additional fire for his methods of player treatment.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Hall of Fame defenceman Chris Chelios recalled Babcock "verbally assaulting" teammate Johan Franzen during a playoff series. Chelios and Franzen were teammates with the Red Wings under Babcock from 2005 to 2009.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]"Some of the things [Babcock said to Franzen] on the bench, I don't know what he said to him behind closed doors one-on-one, but he blatantly verbally assaulted him during the game on the bench," Chelios told the Spittin' Chiclets Podcast in an episode released Monday.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Franzen later confirmed the allegation to Swedish newspaper Expressen.[/FONT]
[FONT="]"I get the shivers when I think about it. That incident occurred against Nashville in the playoffs. It was coarse, nasty and shocking. But that was just one out of a hundred things he did. The tip of the iceberg," Franzen said.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Franzen, who Chelios says was hurt at the time of the incident, has not appeared in the NHL since 2015 due to post-concussion syndromes. In 2018, Franzen told Expressen that he'd been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder while also dealing with severe anxiety, depression and panic attacks
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Franzen said Babcock would say "horrible things" to teammates. He added that beginning in 2011, he was "terrified of being at the rink" after the first time Babcock berated him. [/FONT]
[FONT="]"He's a terrible person, the worst I have ever met. He's a bully who was attacking people. It could be a cleaner at the arena in Detroit or anybody. He would lay into people without any reason," Franzen said.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Chelios also spoke about Babcock's treatment of veterans.[/FONT]
[FONT="]"What he did to [Mike] Modano was incredibly disrespectful," he added. "What he did to, just recently, [Jason] Spezza in Toronto, those were the things that are so unnecessary."[/FONT]
[FONT="]While coaching Detroit in its 2010-2011 season, Babcock elected to make Modano a healthy scratch with 1,499 career games played, preventing the forward from reaching the prestigious 1,500-game milestone. He scratched Spezza in this year's season opener in what would've been the 36-year-old's Maple Leafs debut in his hometown of Toronto against his former team, the Ottawa Senators.[/FONT]
[FONT="]"When something did happen and there was some second guessing, and it got to [GM] Ken Holland, [he] came down to the room and had this speech, and supported Mike Babcock," Chelios said.[/FONT]
[FONT="]"It was a great speech, but it was to tell everybody in the room, 'you don't like it, you could be traded, so come up and see me to be traded.' So that was the way that ended."[/FONT]
[FONT="]Franzen and Chelios' allegations come one week after a story emerged detailing Babcock's treatment of Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner during his rookie season in 2016-17.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Marner confirmed a Toronto Sun report that Babcock made him list his teammates in order of how hard they worked, before revealing the list to players who Marner had ranked at the bottom.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Babcock has since said he was wrong for doing so and issued an apology.[/FONT]
https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/mike-babcock-coaching-franzen-chelios-1.5381813
[h=1]Former Red Wings Chelios, Franzen accuse Mike Babcock of 'verbal assault'[/h][h=2]Hall of Famer Chelios said ex-coach verbally attacked Franzen on bench during playoff game[/h]
[FONT="]Former Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock is coming under additional fire for his methods of player treatment.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Hall of Fame defenceman Chris Chelios recalled Babcock "verbally assaulting" teammate Johan Franzen during a playoff series. Chelios and Franzen were teammates with the Red Wings under Babcock from 2005 to 2009.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]"Some of the things [Babcock said to Franzen] on the bench, I don't know what he said to him behind closed doors one-on-one, but he blatantly verbally assaulted him during the game on the bench," Chelios told the Spittin' Chiclets Podcast in an episode released Monday.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Franzen later confirmed the allegation to Swedish newspaper Expressen.[/FONT]
[FONT="]"I get the shivers when I think about it. That incident occurred against Nashville in the playoffs. It was coarse, nasty and shocking. But that was just one out of a hundred things he did. The tip of the iceberg," Franzen said.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Franzen, who Chelios says was hurt at the time of the incident, has not appeared in the NHL since 2015 due to post-concussion syndromes. In 2018, Franzen told Expressen that he'd been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder while also dealing with severe anxiety, depression and panic attacks
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Franzen said Babcock would say "horrible things" to teammates. He added that beginning in 2011, he was "terrified of being at the rink" after the first time Babcock berated him. [/FONT]
[FONT="]"He's a terrible person, the worst I have ever met. He's a bully who was attacking people. It could be a cleaner at the arena in Detroit or anybody. He would lay into people without any reason," Franzen said.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Chelios also spoke about Babcock's treatment of veterans.[/FONT]
[FONT="]"What he did to [Mike] Modano was incredibly disrespectful," he added. "What he did to, just recently, [Jason] Spezza in Toronto, those were the things that are so unnecessary."[/FONT]
[FONT="]While coaching Detroit in its 2010-2011 season, Babcock elected to make Modano a healthy scratch with 1,499 career games played, preventing the forward from reaching the prestigious 1,500-game milestone. He scratched Spezza in this year's season opener in what would've been the 36-year-old's Maple Leafs debut in his hometown of Toronto against his former team, the Ottawa Senators.[/FONT]
[FONT="]"When something did happen and there was some second guessing, and it got to [GM] Ken Holland, [he] came down to the room and had this speech, and supported Mike Babcock," Chelios said.[/FONT]
[FONT="]"It was a great speech, but it was to tell everybody in the room, 'you don't like it, you could be traded, so come up and see me to be traded.' So that was the way that ended."[/FONT]
[FONT="]Franzen and Chelios' allegations come one week after a story emerged detailing Babcock's treatment of Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner during his rookie season in 2016-17.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Marner confirmed a Toronto Sun report that Babcock made him list his teammates in order of how hard they worked, before revealing the list to players who Marner had ranked at the bottom.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Babcock has since said he was wrong for doing so and issued an apology.[/FONT]
