i thought i'd take a break for the regular season because the day to day bs (whether it's a winning or losing streak) becomes a bit too much.

read the thread this morning and did some back reading....

holy sh!t, fcuk covid 19, stupidity is even more contagious.

this is why you don't take political or medical advice from paul blart or a knuckle dragger who breathes fire.


as you were, gentlemen.
- RealityChecker

the season's not over but my thoughts are...

the season went a little better than i thought it would. i don't think that they're as bad as their recent slide has shown.

i think they're a playoff team but i don't see them developing into contenders with their current front office (from coaching staff to management team)... which means that my take hasn't really changed.

benning has built a team with some quality pieces but he's not the guy to take it to contender level.

he manages on a year to year basis meaning that finishing as best the team can for any given season is his (only or if you want to be kind primary) objective. he signs players that he thinks will help right away and his contracts/trades have borne that out. they are serviceable to good for the first year or two and then their contracts or what was given up in trade look really bad.

the team has a cap issue. the cap has been badly mismanaged by this regime and at a time when the cap should be favourable (best players are on their first or second contracts), it's a negative for the team.

rather than planning the cap around when their real players (ep, bb, qh) will be ready to really compete (which is usually 3-5 years into their careers), benning has planned around the current season (this year, last year, the year before etc.)

the chickens will come home to roost meaning that the team has an artificial ceiling created by mismanagement (from trades to signings).

sure, they'll compete for the playoffs and even make it (perhaps as early as this season) but how many of you have faith that they're going to turn into contenders under this regime? not me. they are playoff bubble team which is another way of saying that they'll be 1st and/or 2nd round opponents of the real cup contenders.

the problem with being a playoff bubble team? there's just enough hope for the homers to drink the kool-aid.
- RealityChecker

The only thing he's done well is draft, yet he insists on trading away picks. If we squeak into the playoffs we're without draft picks in the first two rounds. Tofolli is a now piece and to a lesser extent so is Miller.

I agree with your artificial ceiling assessment.

Sure the team looks in better shape than it did 5 years ago, but it had to just because we were bound to acquire top 10 picks. JB shoring up the team during those years negates some of his work at the draft table because he kept moving us down the draft order.

The only thing he's done well is draft, yet he insists on trading away picks. If we squeak into the playoffs we're without draft picks in the first two rounds. Tofolli is a now piece and to a lesser extent so is Miller.

I agree with your artificial ceiling assessment.

Sure the team looks in better shape than it did 5 years ago, but it had to just because we were bound to acquire top 10 picks. JB shoring up the team during those years negates some of his work at the draft table because he kept moving us down the draft order.
- golfingsince

That's exactly right. We've said it time and time again that his strength is drafting but he never put in the effort (or had the mindset) to increase the number of picks.

And let's not forget that Toffoli is a rental. He holds all the cards in negotiations and he's dealing with a GM who generally over pays.

But I hear the team will be cap compliant so no cap issues here.

I got fire breather, who's Blart?

Wish RC and Golfing would come back, I miss their perspective on canucks reality
- Makita

Me.

Me.
- bloatedmosquito

troll

That's exactly right. We've said it time and time again that his strength is drafting but he never put in the effort (or had the mindset) to increase the number of picks.

And let's not forget that Toffoli is a rental. He holds all the cards in negotiations and he's dealing with a GM who generally over pays.

But I hear the team will be cap compliant so no cap issues here.
- RealityChecker

That and I trust him because he's an NHL GM and we're armchair GM's are my two favourite arguments here.

Translation: 1. I'm wrong but won't back down. 2. I've got nothing.

That and I trust him because he's an NHL GM and we're armchair GM's are my two favourite arguments here.

Translation: 1. I'm wrong but won't back down. 2. I've got nothing.
- golfingsince

That and I trust him because he's an NHL GM and we're armchair GM's are my two favourite arguments here.

Translation: 1. I'm wrong but won't back down. 2. I've got nothing.
- golfingsince

every gm has bad contracts on their payroll so you can't criticize jb.

well....

every gm has made a bad trade so i guess you can't criticize jb. every gm has made a bad draft pick so you can't criticize jb.

moral of the story... you can't criticize jb.

every gm has bad contracts on their payroll so you can't criticize jb.

well....

every gm has made a bad trade so i guess you can't criticize jb. every gm has made a bad draft pick so you can't criticize jb.

moral of the story... you can't criticize jb.
- RealityChecker

https://www.washingtonpos...irus-trump-anthony-fauci/

This is disturbing. The pumpkin king needs to be silenced. Maybe get him one of giant colouring books and a large assortment of crayons. Really, really toxic crayons.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/03/23/coronavirus-trump-anthony-fauci/

This is disturbing. The pumpkin king needs to be silenced. Maybe get him one of giant colouring books and a large assortment of crayons. Really, really toxic crayons.
- bloatedmosquito

the obese orange god is just the personification of the war against science that certain segments of society have waged for a couple/few decades.

stephen colbert put it best when he coined the term "truthiness."

when facts or science don't jibe with your politics, replace truth with truthiness.

from wiki:

Truthiness is the belief or assertion that a particular statement is true based on the intuition or perceptions of some individual or individuals, without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination, or facts.[1][2] Truthiness can range from ignorant assertions of falsehoods to deliberate duplicity or propaganda intended to sway opinions.

the obese orange god is just the personification of the war against science that certain segments of society have waged for a couple/few decades.

stephen colbert put it best when he coined the term "truthiness."

when facts or science don't jibe with your politics, replace truth with truthiness.

from wiki:

Truthiness is the belief or assertion that a particular statement is true based on the intuition or perceptions of some individual or individuals, without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination, or facts.
- RealityChecker[1][2] Truthiness can range from ignorant assertions of falsehoods to deliberate duplicity or propaganda intended to sway opinions.

But why do so many people willingly fall for it? We are smart monkeys. We are naturally inquisitive. For so long people refused to believe unless there was hard evidence to support; almost to a fault.

Now it seems many are more than willing to be ignorant. Blindly follow. Are we losing the ability to look and think for ourselves?

But why do so many people willingly fall for it? We are smart monkeys. We are naturally inquisitive. For so long people refused to believe unless there was hard evidence to support; almost to a fault.

Now it seems many are more than willing to be ignorant. Blindly follow. Are we losing the ability to look and think for ourselves?
- bloatedmosquito

people are always willing, nay looking for something that confirms what they already believe.

given the choice between something that confirms their worldview vs something that in reality tells them they are (and have been for a period of time) wrong, some people take the path of least resistance.

put another way, it's easier to be fat, lazy and dumb than it is to correct it.

Newton's First Law of Motion states that a body at rest will remain at rest unless an outside force acts on it. this can be applied to mental inertia as well. it's easier to resist the outside force so that person can remain intellectually at rest (lazy.)

Thanks for cheering me up, fellas.

So the US just took the global lead on Covid-19 cases.........

So the US just took the global lead on Covid-19 cases.........
- golfingsince

...and it's only going to get much worse.

So the US just took the global lead on Covid-19 cases.........
- golfingsince

...and it's only going to get much worse.
- Marwood

Yeah, it is. I think the death tolls in the US will be much higher than a thousand daily for over a month. I'm not trying to be grim, just realistic.

In Canada they've already stopped testing mild cases, which tells me they think a large portion of the population already has it. I think we'll see a mass resurgence in the fall. At this point, we might be lucky to have enough ventilators and volunteers ( gonna happen) to save a large number of people.


I mean Ontario had 40K people "approved" to be tested, whatever that means. However, most people in Canada have been practicing social distancing for a week or more. We may have flattened the curve.

Dr. Anthony Fauci unveils a mask that could save millions of lives.

Dr. Anthony Fauci unveils a mask that could save millions of lives.
- Makita

Saw that yesterday. It’s a beauty.

Dr. Anthony Fauci unveils a mask that could save millions of lives.
- Makita

House of Representatives just approved 2.2 TRILLION dollars to deal with this pandemic.

House of Representatives just approved 2.2 TRILLION dollars to deal with this pandemic.
- LeftCoaster

here's an interesting breakdown of how it's distributed.

Should we have a Covid-19 thread?

It's quite possible the most fascinating thing we witness in our lifetimes, maybe not if you're younger.

I believe the world is going to change much more severely than it did post 9/11.

I realize for many it's frightening so they might not want to discuss it much.