Nichols’ Notes: GMs take emotions out of trades

Really good conversation here with George Stroumboulopoulos, who has a chat about the art of making trades around the deadline with general managers Brian MacLellan, Stan Bowman and Jim Nill.

The GMs were asked if they had ever not traded a player because of a personal connection.

“You can’t,” replied Bowman. “You can’t let yourself get attached. That’s why I try to maintain a good relationship with our players, but I don’t really try to get too close to them because I think I’ve had to make more hard decisions probably than anybody. I’ve traded away so many good players that I’ve liked that are great guys, great players, young players.  We’ve had to part ways with them.

“I think the only way it works is if you take the emotion out of it. I mean, it sounds cold but it is a business at the end of the day. It’s a sport and a business. If you fall in love with players, you’re going to end up with a team that’s not achieving too much.”

Source: Sportsnet/ Transcript: Nichols

There’s a second part to that interview with the three GMs, discussing various aspects of the playoffs and windows to win.

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Speaking of windows to win that Cup, the Nashville Predators are certainly hoping to make a deep run this spring.

It doesn’t matter how you get to those playoffs, it just matters that you get there.

“I said it last year, at the end of the season there’s no exact road map to success,” coach Peter Laviolette noted. “Whether you’re playing well or you’re not playing well, if you’re fortunate enough to be one of the 16 teams that plays for the Stanley Cup, you have to do the right things every day in order to move on in a round and move on in multiple rounds and ultimately hold the Stanley Cup.

“The regular season is the vehicle you use to get to the playoffs. The road always twists and turns when you’re in that vehicle and plays out differently. I don’t know if there’s a right or a wrong way to get there. Right now we’re getting some points and we’re doing some good things.”

Source: Stanley/NHL.com

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There was a lot of buzz generated yesterday with the preliminary guidelines of what an expansion draft might look like, should the NHL add another team or two.

The key point, though, is that nothing is set in stone yet. And even the GMs still seek clarity on some aspects of those potential rules.

“It gives you some clarity there, but there are still some details that have to come out,” Winnipeg Jets GM Cheveldayoff said. “It’s still early and there’s a big if involved, but at least you have some thoughts rolling through your head now about what you’re potentially going to be faced with.”

Source: Wiebe/ Sun

To help you extrapolate what the potential rules could look like for the young players on your team (first and second-year pros would be exempt from the expansion draft, meaning they wouldn’t need to be protected), start with these two examples on which Darren Dreger received specific confirmation from Bill Daly at the NHL.

Clarification from Dreger on convo w/ Daly: Nylander would not be exempt from expansion draft. Ehlers would be exempt. #Leafs #NHLJets

— Chris Nichols (@NicholsOnHockey) March 17, 2016

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Sidney Crosby is asked about a variety of topics in this Q&A, ranging from 3-on-3 overtime, to the World Cup, to PEDs, fighting in hockey, and more.

ESPN.com: Have you ever suspected or known that a teammate was gay? Would a player who publicly came out as gay present any problems in the NHL?

Crosby: No. I haven’t been in that situation, No. 1, but I don’t think it would be an issue. That’s something that we talk about much more openly now, and I think that you look at football, Michael Sam, seeing that situation and the opportunity he had to speak out and see how accepted everything was, I think that was a good example. I don’t see that being an issue in hockey.

Source: Anderson/ ESPN

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Solid profile on Johnny Gaudreau of the Calgary Flames that’s worth a few minutes of your time.

“I think he’s subconsciously aware that he’s a trailblazer for younger kids,” GM Brad Treliving said. “He’s saying, ‘Look at me, I’ve done it, and I’ve been told I can’t.’”

Source: Prewitt/ Sports Illustrated

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Todd McLellan on Connor McDavid’s performance against the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday evening in a 6-4 win:

“Connor? He was good. Ah, he was great,” said McLellan. “He was really dominant. He had the puck on a string. And that’s not an easy team to play against. They defend with their size and their strength, but he was hitting the holes at the right time. He was getting the puck at the right time. His speed was really effective. He stripped pucks. He had good body position. He took the team and he said, ‘Follow me,’ and everybody did.”

Source: Jones/ Sun

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After years of studying and planning, an NHL-like situation room with central video review has come to the Australian-based National Rugby League.

“It will improve accuracy, efficiency, consistency and transparency,” NRL Head of Football Todd Greenberg said, “and combined with the introduction of the shot clock and a reduction in interchange, will result in a more free-flowing game.

“Make no mistake, this is a game changer; we will control the vision, and we will have access to much improved technology, which means will be able to make informed decisions much quicker than we have done previously. Supporters will also be informed. We will transform the fan experience through live explanations via the broadcast and via our digital and social platforms.”

Source: Lane/ NHL.com

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Arizona Coyotes right wing Viktor Tikhonov recalls his family moving back to Russia when he was 14, which was his first recollection of meeting his legendary grandfather, for whom he was named.

“Yeah, so I didn’t know what to expect,” Tikhonov said. “… but literally the first day, we walked into their place and he picked me off the ground and hugged me. It was unbelievable.

“He never ever yelled at me. He saw almost every one of my games and he never yelled or ever said anything negative to me at all. There was some constructive criticism, for sure, but it was always positive and supportive.”

The next line was the best though, when Tikhonov was asked if his famously harsh-coaching grandfather had mellowed out.

“Just for me, though,” Tikhonov said, laughing. “To me, he was basically just Granddad. But to everybody else, he was still you-know-who.”

Good article there, with a pretty honest assessment at the end from the younger Tikhonov on what it’s like to carry that name in the hockey world.

Source: McManaman/ azcentral

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Nichols’ Notes runs weekdays, linking you to stories of interest from around the NHL.

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