JR Ewing

This is Link Gaetz and, oh man, this is going to be a long post. DISCLAIMER - It's almost impossible to tell his full story, so I'm sure others here will have a story I either forgot to mentionr or didn't know about. -Gaetz showed up for the 1988 draft with a pair of black eyes from a bar fight he'd had against four men the night before. Minnesota GM, Lou Nanne, later said that he should drafted a lawyer with his third pick. Legend has it that Gaetz brough two cases of beer to the draft, but nobody knows for sure. -One of his favorite things to do was intercept team mail in the management office. He would open any letter addressed to a rookie, and if there was cash in it from back home, he'd steal it. -Once stole his roommate's TV, then trashed the room and took a whizz on the other guy's bed. Arrested and spent three days in jail. -While playing in the ECHL in 1993, Gaetz decided to take the opposing team's net during warmups. According to Wheeling Thunderbirds head coach Jim Bermingham “This guy Link Gaetz was a monster man, and crazy. I remember him skating down into our end during warm-up while we were taking shots on goal and just taking our net and pushing it down the ice back down to his end!!” Nobody retrieved the net and Bermingham had his goalie take shots in the crease. -While playing for the Nashville Knights, he was driving to a party one night. The car in front of him tried to go through the gate slowly so Gaetz couldn't follow him, and this caused Gaetz to seriously lose it. Rammed the car from behind, beat the holy hell out of the other driver and casually walked into the party. The cops ended up being called, and he had to spend the night in jail after coach Nick Fotiu refused to bail him out. Gaetz was apparently still hot, because when he was released the next morning, he went straight over to the Knights practice facility and sucker punched Fotiu. The team cut Gaetz immediately. -By 1994, Gaetz went too far for the Sharks liking, and he was traded to Edmonton. Dean Lombardi just didn't know what to do with him anymore. Gaetz had held a group of his teammates hostage at a party, terrorizing anybody that attempted to leave. Fotiu was called again, and he came to break it up. "I said, 'C'mon, Link, let's call it a night,' " Fotiu says. "So I grabbed the bottle out of his hand, and Link blew. We went toe-to-toe in the living room. Tumbling over couches, the whole bit. Finally, the cops showed and took him away. Five in the morning, he comes over to my house and wants to fight. I say no. Eight o'clock, he comes back. He wants to go to breakfast." -Later that year, he moved on to that hockey hotbed of Mexico City, playing for the Toreros of the NAL. Instigated a full brawl which finally ended with the opposing goalie spearing Gaetz in the forehead. The first shift of the next game, Gaetz was thrown out after pulling another guy's hair, and decdied that getting loaded was the right thing to do. The night ended with him and some teammates going to Denny's, where he terrified the waitress and ran into the kitchen and began flipping burgers. The police were called and he spent the night in jail. The team cut him the next day. -Also in 1994, Gaetz played 8 games for the Sacremento River Rats in Roller Hockey International. He was thrown off the team after he beat the snot out of a team trainer. -In 1995, Gaetz was cooling his heel after fighting Sasha Lakovic, and decided he wasn't done yet. He climbed the glass and fought Lakovic some more in the other penalty box. Suspended. Later that year, Gaetz broke Frank LaScala's arm with a viscous two-hander. He was suspended for the remainder of the year. -In 1997, Gaetz was playing for Madison in the United League, and his coach, Dave Schultz, couldn't stand him. Gaetz constantly showed up at the rink drunk and in no condition to play. Was thrown out of the league after initiating a stick swinging incident from his own bench. Schultz must have been glad to be rid of him. -In 1998, the Anchorage Aces, over in the WCHL, wanted him to play, but the league made them pay a $40,000 bond before he could join up, payable if he caused any problems... Didn't take long. Eleven games into the season, he beat the crap out of another guy and then wouldn't stop, even while the player was laying on the ice. The ref and the linesmen had to tear him off and when they did that, Gaetz bit the ref on the league. Gaetz was gone and so was Anchorage's $40,000. -He moved on to the Toledo Storm in the ECHL. He showed completely out of shape physically and mentally, and got rid of him after only 1 game. -In 1999, while playing for Huntsville, Gaetz was arrested for public intoxication and resisting arrest, after brawling with the cops. His bail was set at $10,000 but bumped up after he said "Why don't you make it $100,000, bitch?" to Judge Barbara Hale. She reduced it $5,000 after the weekend was over. -Later in '99, Gaetz moved on the bustling metropolis of Eston (population: 1,031) to play for the Ramblers in the (get this) Saskatchewan Wild Goose League. In his first shift he recorded 68 PIM, a record in that league and probably just about any other. He was later thrown off the team, and legend has it that no bar owner in the area will allow him back in their business. In his time in Eston, he played 11 games, with no points and 112 PIM. -After playing a handful games in the fighters' paradise of the Quebec Senior League, Gaetz was signed in 2005 to his final pro contract, with the Thetford Mines. He dressed for one final time , wasn't getting any ice time, so Gaetz said "To hell with it" and left during the second intermission to eat a hamburger from the concession stand. He was suspended for the rest of the season, and that ended his pro career. -Summer 2005: "Battle of the Hockey Enforcers". Promoter Darryl Wolski put together a show which would feature nothing but goons going at it, and he was able to get Gaetz to sign on. He had one fight and then withdrew due to concussion-like symptoms. JR

@Dynamo 47 Dale Hunter was another I was going to mention, if for no other reason than the disgusting and dirty hit on Pierre Turgeon twenty years ago. JR

This has been measured, actually: that puck possession period after winning a draw is about ten seconds. After that, the frequency of shots and scoring chances is right back to what it is the rest of the game. This matches up well with we see in the overall numbers: no correlation between faceoff percentages and things like GF and GA (which have direct linear relationship with winning). Some teams that score a lot with a lot of their faceoffs, and other teams which score a lot don't. Where faceoff have their moments are in those high leverage situations which fishbulb described: key moments in the game, late while protecting a lead or trying to get it back. I think only a fool would suggest that having a good faceoff man in unimportant at those times. JR

Heh. No, but I can see how you're getting that idea. He's not a perfect player by any means, but he's a good, young 2C. The Bruins were a very good faceoff team this year. The Blackhawks, though, were quite normal. The average team won 1430 faceoffs in 2013, the Hawks won 1436, 0.8 points above average. There IS big picture stuff which shows no correlation between faceoff ability and things like Wins, GF, GA, PP%, PK%, but that's fine. I agree, which is why I suggested earlier that Gagner is a poor candidate to take those draws. Taking tough draws would be part of the reason that MacTavish signed Boyd Godron: http://stats.tabita.org/faceoffs/player/boyd_gordon Please don't take me too literally, here: I didn't say that faceoffs have no importance, I said that they're over-emphasized, generally speaking. The data DOES show that the frequency of shots against rises after a defensive zone faceoff loss. I agree that a scenario like the one you mention isn't one of those situations, and it calls for a quality faceoff man. I would never suggest otherwise, because all other things being equal, I'll take the guy who can win them. JR

My favorite part was the diamond hard slab of gum in each pack. JR

The PP increase makes perfect sense: it happens league-wide. The PP team has an extra player to help win the draw. That being said, I don't know if the author is splitting up ES offensive zone faceoffs and PP faceoffs. If not, the advantage from PP faceoffs would distort those ES draws and create a statistical illusion. However, as I said, I don't know how if he's splitting them up. I wouldn't mind seeing Gagner's FO% go up, but faceoffs aren't hugest deal in the world anyway, and are over-emphasised, generally speaking. Statistically speaking, a player needs to win about 76 more faceoffs than he loses in order to create a goal differential of 1, and a team going from 50% to 60% in the dot would gain about 12 goals, or 2 wins. That being said, I'd rather win a faceoff than lose one. Given Gagner's history on draws, I would use him primarily in offensive zone faaceoffs situations and PP when I get the chance, sheltering him from as many DZ faceoffs as possible. I'd be stunned if Eakins ends up using him very differently. JR

@flyercanuck LOL! I just had to go with Linseman's O-Cheap-e hockey card. JR

@ruxpin I only watch the hockey tournament. That is it. JR

This is Ken Linseman. "The Rat". He was one of, if not the most hated and obnoxious playes of the 1980s, and did his part to otherwise make the NHL look like a bit of a joke. While playing for the Kingston Canadians, he was convicted of assault after kicking a downed opponent in the head with his skate. During his time in the NHL, he gouged Petr Svoboda in the eye during a fight, speared Iain Duncan in the nuts and then spit on him, and blazed a nightly trail of elbows, knees, low hits, cross checks and high sticks. Master of the retaliatory penalty. If there was a record kept of guys who started crap their teammates had to finish, Linseman would be the runaway leader. And the thing is: he could play. Terrific speed, strong skater, 807 points in 860 games. Yes, it was the 80s, but that's till extremely solid for that time. See also: Tikkanen, Esa JR

Quite right, and this year he's going to go from centering Hall and Eberle while Hopkins is hurt, and then move down to a hyper-sheltered line with Perron and Yakupov. Lots of PP minutes the entire time. Even if he was a 3C playing up, you know the points are going to come because by virtue of the talent he's playing with. Wing, centre, whatever? I suppose we're in agree to disagree here, but if Gagner is dealt for a defenseman, they don't have anybody to play his minutes. It's not as simple as saying to a winger "Hey, I know you haven't played centre since you were 12, but do you want to give it a shot here against NHL players?" If Sam Gagner is gone, the Oilers only have 2 NHL centres. Speaking as a fan that's spent 20 years watching his team trade players without a suitable replacement, it's just lousy management to do it. It may be the right time to deal him then. Maybe they'll have more than two other centres who can play NHL minutes. That would be a good thing; that would place the team in a position where they can consider a trade. Until that time, by signing this deal, they've avoided negotiations with the NHL's youngest UFA ever, who would fetch a much higher price than $4.8M. Dollar values on contracts aren't signed in a bubble. The player's age, development, the CBA, other players... All of those things come into play, and Gagner held some very nice cards here, and gets paid a bit more than usual for what you'd see. Under these circumstances, the contract is good for Edmonton. Otherwise, the arbitrator probably settled for about $500,000 less (in between the Oilers pitch and Gagner's) and he walks away for nothing the year after. JR

@jammer2 You're talking about this night: The kid's a beauty. JR

So, how much do you figure a 60 point player who is 24 years old is worth on the open market? Do you think you can snag him for $3.5M? But here's the other thing... What log jam are you talking about? Gagner's a centre. If Gagner's gone, here's what they have at centre: NHL Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Boyd Gordon AHL Anton Lander Marco Arcobello Andrew Miller Will Acton Ryan Martindale Two NHL centres, one of whom is a checker and not suited to the task. They could bring in Grabovski, but he's going to want money in Gagner's neighbourhood anyway. I'm all for the trading players when I have an extra amount of talent, but the Oilers are weaker at centre than they are on the blueline. JR

Yeah. In 1981, Tikhonov said "I consider Gainey the world's best all-around player." Take from that what you will, but I definitely don't agree with him. JR

Not to mention that it's extremely sensitive to zone starts. JR

If things hadn't worked out, Gagner was scheduled to become the youngest UFA in the history of the NHL. So, the question really becomes "what would 24 year old Sam Gagner be worth on the open market, with 30 teams bidding on him?". The answer: a lot more than $4.8M and over a lot longer than 3 years. Teams would have been lining up to throw money at a UFA who's age means that he's going to get better, not worse. Let's say the Oilers allowed this to go to arbitration and they accepted whatever he came up with (and they would have). The "risk" that Gagner has a 60 point season is pretty high. For the first bit of the season, he's going to play centre between Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle, and he'll get gravy PP minutes. He's going to get points in this situation. Then, after Ryan Nugent-Hopkins comes back, Gagner will slot in between David Perron and Nail Yakupov, who will all get buttery soft easy minutes (with the Gordon line taking the toughest draws, and the Hall line getting the 2nd toughest). Gagner will again be put in a position to pile up points. If/when that happens, the Oilers are looking a negotiating with a young UFA who will have every little bit of the leverage. I think this deal represents pretty good value for Craig MacTavish, who was put in this situation by the imbecile Steve Tambellini. This is a good day for the Oilers. JR

You'll see... You'll see. JR

Yeah, he finished 2nd in the west in scoring with an outside chance that if he'd not been suspended for the hit on Clutterbuck, he could have led. Also, it wouldn't have hurt his chances if he'd been played more than 18 minutes per night by RFK (who had a thing for giving 4th liners 10+ minute night). Had a great year. We'd be hearing about him all the time if he played in a major Eastern market. JR

Two breakout years in a row... I like the sound of that. JR

Sucks to get old and lose a step, but I guess it happens to all of us. Bob's no different. He used to be kinda spellbinding in the past, but you're right: those days are gone. JR

Just my 2 cents, but I think TSN is leaving HNIC so far behind in the dust it's not even funny. Cherry/Williams aside, there's one guy with a brain in his head there: Elliote Friedman. Just my opinion... JR

There's so many defensemen, it seems like it's gotta be happening. JR

It's pretty bad when even your hometown would like to forget you're from there. JR

Yes, especially since he and Nick Schultz (who was very prone to bad pinches) didn't work out together. JR

This is Dave "Tiger" Williams, jackass. He comes from Weyburn, Saskatchewan, the same home town as my wife. You know how, even in the tiniest towns in Canada, there's a sign saying "Home of" if an NHL player comes from there? Not Weyburn. My father-in-law told me that obody could stand him when he lived there and they were just all glad that he left. Williams once beat up teammate Pat Bouttete, smashing his face against the glass, and then attacked Lanny McDonald when he attempted to break up the “fight”. In 1976, Williams bit Dave Schultz during a fight, hit Dennis Owchar over the head with his stick, causing a gash that required almost 50 stitches to close. Williams attempted to strangle Billy Smith after hitting the goaltender in the throat with a shot, and one time physically threw a reporter out of the Canucks dressing room after the writer had less than grand things to say about him in an article. Williams was a regular guest on Off the Record, and even continues his old ways by intimidating other guests into sharing his opinion. Williams is the all-time leader in penalty minutes (3966) , and there isn't an active player with a hope of catching up. JR

Looking at that poll, I'm glad to see how many people around here agree with me. Things are looking up. JR