NHL Season 2025-26 - Page 3

Djeffery · #41 Posted **Jul 8, 2025, 3:32 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

The problem is that the Playoffs are played and reffed differently than the regular season. The skill and consistency required to win the President's Trophy is arguably higher than the Cup, but that's blasphemy.

There's also 16 non-playoff teams you are playing against during the season, hopefully racking up points on the journey to the President's Cup.

blueandgoldguy · #42 Posted **Jul 10, 2025, 10:34 PM**

I will disagree that winning the president's trophy is meaningless. It's a pretty impressive accomplishment to gain more points than any other team over the course of an 82-game schedule.

This trend I see online with comments stating that if your team doesn't win a championship than the team's accomplishments don't amount to squat are so strange. If that's the case then there is no point in watching sports at all because your team is most likely to fail.

EnvisionSaintJohn · #43 Posted **Jul 10, 2025, 10:50 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by blueandgoldguy

I will disagree that winning the president's trophy is meaningless. It's a pretty impressive accomplishment to gain more points than any other team over the course of an 82-game schedule.

This trend I see online with comments stating that if your team doesn't win a championship than the team's accomplishments don't amount to squat are so strange. If that's the case then there is no point in watching sports at all because your team is most likely to fail.

It's def not meaningless, but it does seem to be a bit cursed. 😅

The Jets definitely have a lot to be proud of for their performance last season, especially winning the the President's trophy, and Hellebuyck being the first goalie to win the Hart since Carey Price.

It would be nice if winning the President's trophy rewarded the winning team a little more in terms of playoff seeding. The current format has some major BS, imo. The Jet's won the President's Trophy and were "rewarded" with playing the third highest seeded team in the Western Conference in the second round, when a much lower seeded team remained in the Oilers.

I think the highest remaining seed should face the lowest remaining seed in the second round, plain and simple.

Winnipeg vs Edmonton and Vegas vs Dallas would have been more fair.

Djeffery · #44 Posted **Jul 11, 2025, 2:01 AM**

Talk is NHL GM's have voted to keep the draft as it was this year, rather than reverting to the everyone on site model they had for years. This year's draft wasn't very well received by fans but apparently the GM's are more concerned with their own travel. I don't know why the NHL seemed to be so awkward, when it was almost the same type of draft setup as the NBA and NFL do, so maybe they will figure it out next year.

Or just get rid of the whole thing, make it a conference call amongst themselves and then publish the results after. I mean, if it's not going to be a fan friendly event anyway, then skip the whole arena production.

Coldrsx · #45 Posted **Jul 16, 2025, 7:02 PM**

Oilers 25/26 sched.

https://www.nhl.com/oilers/schedule/2025-10-21

Calgarian · #46 Posted **Jul 24, 2025, 8:45 PM**

5 Junior players have been acquitted, as expected. Wonder if they will get another shot at the NHL. The Oilers like shady players, wouldn't be surprised if they offer one or more a contract...

WhipperSnapper · #47 Posted **Jul 24, 2025, 9:00 PM**

The Presidents Trophy is like having the tallest tower outside of Toronto. It's not meaningless but, generally, not very meaningful to anyone outside of the fan base.

The NHL is the trendsetter in playoffs seasons that make the regular season utterly pointless to any halfway decent team. In fact, the threshold has increased since the 1980s (unless they plan an expanded play in like the NBA)

Djeffery · #48 Posted **Jul 24, 2025, 9:52 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Calgarian

5 Junior players have been acquitted, as expected. Wonder if they will get another shot at the NHL. The Oilers like shady players, wouldn't be surprised if they offer one or more a contract...

Hard to say. Depends how the league wants to go, but they did allow Logan Mailloux in after his private sexual photo incident from Sweden. That wasn't a criminal case but he did at least get penalized for it (and take responsibility) If I had to guess, Hart gets a shot, the others aren't good enough to overcome the smell that will follow them from this case. But there is a long line of mediocre players in the league (the aforementioned Mailloux being one), so maybe one or more of these guys gets a flyer somewhere.

Calgarian · #49 Posted **Jul 24, 2025, 10:11 PM**

The Oilers gave Bowman a job after he buried a sexual assault, so the bar has been set quite low...

The issue the league needs to address is can they bar someone who was found not guilty. I think there is zero doubt they engaged in some extremely questionable activity, but according to the Judge, they didn't break the law. The players would have a case if the NHL tried to bar them, and the publicity will be very negative for anyone that offers them a contract.

logan5 · #50 Posted **Jul 24, 2025, 11:57 PM**

Michael McLoud stands out here as particularly sleazy. The others I think deserve a chance to resume their hockey careers. They were 18 or 19 at the time, and I believe they have probly learned and grown as people.

logan5 · #51 Posted **Jul 25, 2025, 1:31 AM**

Seeing the judges comments here, I would have to say 100% they should be allowed back in the league, if they are good enough. A few are. Meet the Oilers new goaltender... Dube can play C so maybe Canucks?

TimB09 · #52 Posted **Jul 25, 2025, 1:33 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by logan5

Michael McLoud stands out here as particularly sleazy. The others I think deserve a chance to resume their hockey careers. They were 18 or 19 at the time, and I believe they have probly learned and grown as people.

Sounds like Dube, Hart and McLeod will have teams interested in them.

Formenton and Foote are either playing elsewhere or have moved on to other jobs. I read somewhere that one of them is actually working in construction now and it doesn't sound like he'll be back in the NHL.

optimusREIM · #53 Posted **Jul 25, 2025, 3:35 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Calgarian

The Oilers gave Bowman a job after he buried a sexual assault, so the bar has been set quite low...

The issue the league needs to address is can they bar someone who was found not guilty. I think there is zero doubt they engaged in some extremely questionable activity, but according to the Judge, they didn't break the law. The players would have a case if the NHL tried to bar them, and the publicity will be very negative for anyone that offers them a contract.

I think it's really quite simple how to deal with it. The NHL should not pretend to be the great arbiter of morality or ethics and let the legal system do its thing, allow the players to play. Then, any team that wants to take a chance on the PR nightmare of signing one of these guys can have a go at it.

I think the whole matter is unfortunate in how it played out, particularly in that it seems the actual criminal prosecution was driven at least in part by media pressure. Nobody was well served by this trial, not the complainant, not the NHL, not Hockey Canada, not the players involved. It was the inevitable result of allowing public pressure to inform legal decision making, not to mention that there could be a whole can of civil liability fallout as a result. Everybody still has a freedom to contract here, so I think caution on the part of any public figure who wants to stand against these players being reinstated would be warranted, especially around language that could be now perceived as defamatory.

HomeInMyShoes · #54 Posted **Jul 25, 2025, 4:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

The problem is that the Playoffs are played and reffed differently than the regular season. The skill and consistency required to win the President's Trophy is arguably higher than the Cup, but that's blasphemy.

Apparently it's a different salary cap as well for some. I'm surprised there's no talk on Florida being over cap limit in the playoffs based on the way all that was accounted for.

MonctonRad · #55 Posted **Jul 25, 2025, 4:41 PM**

Good post!

HomeInMyShoes · #56 Posted **Jul 25, 2025, 4:52 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by optimusREIM

I think it's really quite simple how to deal with it. The NHL should not pretend to be the great arbiter of morality or ethics and let the legal system do its thing, allow the players to play. Then, any team that wants to take a chance on the PR nightmare of signing one of these guys can have a go at it.

This. What the NHL should be arbiter of is the play on the ice and they seem to not care much about player safety in general. There's a few players in the NHL that shouldn't be playing in it.

WarrenC12 · #57 Posted **Jul 28, 2025, 5:50 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by optimusREIM

I think it's really quite simple how to deal with it. The NHL should not pretend to be the great arbiter of morality or ethics and let the legal system do its thing, allow the players to play.

The NHL and other major sports leagues (and even teams) have codes of conduct that go above and beyond the law for all kinds of things.

I'm not passing judgment on these players, but absolutely the NHL should have their own rules. They are easy to bungle though, like the NFL going hard on people who do drugs but not those that beat their spouses.

Calgarian · #58 Posted **Jul 28, 2025, 11:05 PM**

I agree it will be a PR nightmare for any team looking to sign any of these guys, but with time, memories will fade and people will move on. I can see Hart and Dube resuming their careers in '26-27 and maybe MacLeod the season after.

I was never really impressed with Dube as a Flame, guy just never took that next step in his career. Guy had one 40 point season IIRC, and a year and a half off certainly won't help.

LeftCoaster · #59 Posted **Jul 29, 2025, 9:45 PM**

Imagine the chirps those guys would get on the ice. It would be relentless.

Calgarian · #60 Posted **Jul 29, 2025, 11:32 PM**

Oh yeah, they would get owned for sure!