JR Ewing

Yeah, I have to say that I'm not bothered when people don't help the police during the course of an investigation, since even innocent people should zip their lips and not say a damned word unless it's on the advice of counsel. It's not indicative of guilt or innocence and has nothing to do with anything, really.

@GratefulFlyers For fun, I went to NHL Edge and I looked at the top 10 in each of: fastest max speed, most speed bursts 22+ mph, and speed burst 20-22 mph. Placing 1st in a category gives you 10 points, 2nd gives you nine, 3rd gives you eight and so on. Some of these guys play a lot more than other, so I took their ice time and expressed it in the number of speed points gained per 60 minutes of play. Here is every player with 1+ SpeedPts/60 this year, which gives a general look at the fastest skaters in the NHL: 1. Connor McDavid, 1.56 2. Brayden Point, 1.53 3. Nathan MacKinnon, 1.49 4. Owen Tippett, 1.23 5. Roope Hintz, 1.05 6. Ryan McLeod, 1.04 Of course, this doesn't tell us which players are more agile than others, who can stickhandle at speed, who has the quickest first steps, have better lateral movement, who skates better/faster backwards, edgework, etc, etc, etc. Either way, Owen Tippett is very fast.

I'm not sure how long the average rape case takes to investigate. My guess is that they're almost always shorter than this one, but this is also not your average investigation. For what it's worth, the RCMP, in a review of their cases from 2015 to 2017, found "consistent deficiencies in how they were handled". Over 300 of the investigations went from a status of requiring no further action to being re-opened, with about 3/4 of them resulting in charges being laid. It also turns out that the London Police Service has one of the highest rates of sexual assaults claims being labelled as "unfounded"; when investigators find no reason to further their investigation. The national average of local and provincial police services and the RCMP is 19%. In London, it's 34%. As part of an article looking into why cases can be labelled as unfounded, The Globe & Mail requested copies of case files, excluding any identifying information, from cases which were closed. Here is a screenshot of what the London Police Service (34% unfounded) and Windsor (3% unfounded) provided: The London Police redacted literally everything other than their letterhead, while the Windsor Police provided all of the requested information. Infer from that what you will, but I take a fairly dim view of the investigative process in London, Ontario. The Department of Justice and BC Ministries of Community and Public Safety conducted a joint study of sexual assault claims of cases covering a two year period, and found that many cases were scarcely investigated at all past the stage of conducting the initial interview with the claimant, and in many instances, they didn't even interview the suspect who had been named. In the case of a 13-year old girl who reported being raped and turned out to be pregnant, the police didn't even speak to man she accused or perform a DNA test on the baby. There's a very good reason that investigations often don't progress very far: the people conducting the study sat-in on police training courses, and it turned out the majority of the training was not about how to investigates sex crimes, but about how to spot false allegations. "You really have to be watching for body language. Is she too upset? Is she upset enough? Is she angry? Is she trying to get even with a boyfriend? Is she looking for attention?" The classes were taught by police officers and not experts with training in areas of trauma or victim behaviour, who all point out that these questions have no bearing on whether or not a person was victimized. There are a lot of very valid reasons that the London Police Service took years to get to this point, and it says a lot more about poor police training and investigation than it does about making me suspicious of the woman.

Why is the timing questionable? The length of the investigation?

Canadians, like people in the US, are protected against the state re-trying you for the same crime, as stated in Provision 11h of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms: None of the players have yet been charged, let alone tried yet, so that Provision doesn't come in to play at this time.

That's exactly it. When you're buying UFA years, the team will pay either in term OR AAV. Not to go there, but since he was brought up before, in the case of Voracek, Hextall ended up paying for BOTH! With Tippett's, I think that Briere struck a good balance. The last few years don't have a NMC, and the caphit is easier to take with each years that goes by.

As per the title, you can't really argue with what's happened since Kris Knoblauch and Paul Coffey took over the team, and at 31 games, we're well past the dead coach bounce. Oilers under Jay Woodcroft Record: 3-9-1, Pts: 7 (31st), PTS%: GF/GP: 26th, 30th, Differential: 31st PP: 9th, PK: 30th Oilers under Kris Knoblauch Record: 25-6-0, Pts: 50 (2nd to COL, who have 1 more point and have played 5 more games), PTS%: 1st GF/GP: 3rd, GA/GP: 2ND, Differential: 1st PP: 4th, PK: 1st Kris Noblauch -Moved the lineup away from the 11 forward/7 defense lineup of Woodcroft. Jay's lineup meant that McDavid and Draisaitl played too many minutes at the expense of depth players, who sat around for long stretches and were cold by the time they got in. Having 7 defensemen also meant #7 (often Philip Broberg) sitting around for long stretches, and by the time he saw ice, he was almost paralyzed by fear of making a mistake and not getting another shift, and he was mostly reactive instead of proactive. -Going back to the 12/6 came along with McDavid being taken off the penalty kill. Knoblauch has talked about the importance for every player on the roster to have an opportunity to impact the game each night, and those players have responded, with a huge swing on the PK, going from 30th to 1st since Nov 13th. Team chemistry improved tremendously. -He looked at his forwards and identified a group whose defensive instincts weren't nearly as pronounced as their offensive awareness. He changed them from man-to-man coverage to zone. There's nothing wrong with man-to-man, but it does require players with strong defensive tendencies, and that isn't this core group of forwards' game. Knoblauch instituted changes in the team's defensive structure, going from this DZ system, with MILES of open ice in the middle: to an easy-to-play Box+1 shown in this short clip: He also changed their neutral zone setup from a 2-1-2, which allowed a lot of space and speed to the opposition, to a 1-2-2. The result is the group denying entry and space much more often, as shown in this short clip: Paul Coffey -Told his defensemen to prioritize making plays and passes rather hard-rims and off-the-glass-and-out. Even when you're tired, don't just dump it out. -Didn't think the defensemen were communicating very well, so had them sit together in the dressing room. The result has been them, as a group, talking shop constantly, talking about ways to improve, coming up with non-verbal ways to communicate. Matthias Ekholm, product of a noted defense factory in Nashvhille, said that the Preds always did the same thing and found it to be extremely beneficial. TLDR - They're not doing it with blowouts, or riding a hot PP, or with any smoke and mirrors. The team stopped trying to be the smartest guys in the room, and have instead settled for traditional defending and chance against reduction. They will go through tough times again this season, and face struggle, but they're playing a system which is easy to play and reproduce, and has brought strong results. -Forgive the typos. I never was much of an editor.

lol... Well, I know. It only came up because you mentioned that he did it twice, to which I noted that doing it back then meant you were one of the top 10 scorers in the league, compared to today, where you're around 50th. I don't want to do more than part in making a thread about Tippett's contract all about Jakub Voracek, so I apologize for my part in it, and will end my part in it.

Right. I like Ryan Poehling, but if he's getting a lot of minutes in your top 6, you're in trouble.

Agreed. He was paid like he was an elite player and he wasn't one. That wasn't my point about being a PPG player. When Jake did it, there was a far smaller group of players doing it; offense was a lot lower. What he did is more impressive than being a PPG player today. For his part, Tippett is 144th in points-per-game. He's not nearly as good. Thankfully, he's being paid less.

5% is quite a bit. "GRITENSITY" is this site's name for the bottom 1/3 of the roster. Nicer than saying "grinders", I suppose. lol I like a marriage of the eye test and the numbers, because both can tell us a lot and both can be deceiving, and both require context. Being overly reliant on any approach will leave you blind to the possibilities presented by the other. Some people will tell you that the numbers mean nothing, but that debate is over: every team has an analytics department, and has for years.

@GratefulFlyers What I usually remind myself, when I'm excited about depth players, is that part of the reason they can look good is because the coach has them slotted properly in the batting order. When thrown into deeper waters, they usually struggle. Thanks to PuckIQ, we can how players fare against different levels of competition. For Poehling this year: I think that Torts is likely using him correctly.

I don't want to defend the contract, because Hextall flat-out over-paid Voracek, but he produced for a long time and had a really good career. I like the contract that Tippett signed, and I think he can provide suitable value for at least five years. I would also be stunned if his list of comps is anything approaching this group.

Oof. Two quick ones. Looks like it hit Seeler's knee on the way in.

Everytime I see him, I come away with the same impression: really good PKer, good skater. Comes up short on skill but not effort. I think a good comparable both in terms of salary and on-ice is Brett Howden. Briere kept him at a fair contract.

So, I'm pretty much in line with others around here. The salary is more than fair, but I think the term runs about three years too long. He provides a combination of high level offense and abysmal defense, but it's much harder to find guys to put the puck in the net than anything else. Generally speaking, I'm usually a bit leery of when guys find a big bump in their scoring, but he's not being zoomed by a high shooting percentage, so it seems repeatable to me. If he loses his wheels before the contract ends, it won't be pretty out there. @jammer2 I'm not sure if I agree with the article comparing Owen Tippett and Nugent-Hopkins. I understand that they're not comparing stylistically speaking, but rather in terms of production. Offense has gone up a fair bit since RNH was Tippett's age. That year, he was 73rd in points-per-game and +10 on a team that gave up more than they scored. Tippett is 117th in points-per-game and-3 on a team with a positive goal differential.

Not arguing Voracek's contract, but in fairness, when Voracek was at a point-per-game, he was 5th in the league in scoring. Today, that puts you around 50th.

Most of the team looks like they had Nyquil for a pre-game meal, but Deslauriers is playing with some fire, anyway.

I agree with you that due process is important, but it's fair to point out that the only person who's said that Carter Hart was cleared is his lawyer, which makes him about the million attorney to protest his client's complete innocence. Up to this point, Scott Fenton has written numerous media outlets across Canada and threatened that if they so much as uttered or typed the words "Carter" and "Hart" he would sue them for defamation. For my part, I'll stand by whatever is decided in the court, but it seems like a silly argument in Hart's defense that he was cleared of wrongdoing by the very same police service which has directed him to present himself to face charges.

I do like how you went from how she "received 2.5 million" to "there was a confidentiality agreement". Let me know when you make up your mind. Also: welcome to Hockey Forums, and I really do mean that. I'm not trying to pick on you.

Definitely not. lol Danny Briere was a junior in the 90s.

MacKinnon is putting in his case for the Hart this year. Just having a great season.

This is still coming, too: Halifax Regional Police say an investigation into a historic sexual assault allegation against members of Canada's 2003 world junior hockey team is ongoing. Constable John MacLeod said in an email to The Canadian Press that investigators are still gathering evidence, speaking with people who may have relevant information and looking for ways to advance the investigation. He said sexual assault investigations, particularly historical ones, are complex, but added there is no statute of limitations. The incident under investigation is alleged to have occurred in Halifax during the 2003 world junior hockey championship and involved members of Canada’s team. Halifax police said in July 2022 that they were opening the investigation shortly around the same time that police in London, Ont., reopened an investigation into an alleged sexual assault involving members of Canada's 2018 world junior team. London police said Wednesday that they are planning a Feb. 5 news conference to provide an update of that investigation. That announcement came amid a Globe and Mail report that five members of the 2018 team have been ordered to surrender to police to face charges. The Globe and Mail report came as five members of that team were granted a leave of absence from their current professional clubs: Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers, Dillon Dube of the Calgary Flames, Michael McLeod and Cal Foote of the New Jersey Devils and former NHLer Alex Formenton, who is now playing in Switzerland. Ontario's Ministry of the Attorney General says no charges relating to the 2018 incident have been filed in court, and The Canadian Press has no information that connects the players' leaves to the investigation. https://www.tsn.ca/hockey-canada/halifax-police-sex-assault-investigation-involving-2003-junior-hockey-team-ongoing-1.2067618

Nobody was going to take Hart off the Flyers hands, because everybody knew that this was a distinct possibility. Briere might have tried to deal him, but I can't think there was a large list of takers, given the possible trouble that was looming.

There isn't really a non-disclosure clause, because the Supreme Court of Canada declared that every out-of-court settlement in Canada must remain private. Maybe she received millions, and maybe she didn't, but Hockey Canada didn't need to pay her far more than a court would have awarded her to ensure her silence since neither side is allowed to talk about it. I just don't think it's appropriate to talk about her getting millions of dollars when there just isn't evidence of it.