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The ****ing Off Season thread

Elliotte Friedman @FriedgeHNIC · 35m
Hearing MLSE president/CEO Tim Leiweke will be leaving the company soon. (1/2)


Elliotte Friedman @FriedgeHNIC · 34m
Not sure of where he's going, but hearing the reason is he is looking for a new challenge.


Elliotte Friedman @FriedgeHNIC · 5m
Leweike, it should be noted, is denying the report. Saying he has made no long-term decisions yet.
 
does "a new challenge" imply that he has accomplished anything at this challenge?

If he is "stepping down" now it seems pretty clear he was brought in for one reason only...the NFL.
 
leafman101 said:
does "a new challenge" imply that he has accomplished anything at this challenge?

If he is "stepping down" now it seems pretty clear he was brought in for one reason only...the NFL.
Click to expand...
Well, that, and turning Toronto FC into a competitive team, I guess. Still, for all his bluster and promise coming in, he'd be tucking tail and running off pretty early in the game if he leaves now. Maybe Mr. and Mrs. Leiweke aren't eager for another taste of Canadian winter?
 
Bob McCown ‏@FadooBobcat
Leiweke about to move back to LA to run the Clippers? Whisper won't go away. Wife moved back to So. Cal. already. #wehatewinter
 
Damien Cox ‏@DamoSpin
New Leaf front office addition expected to be Brandon Pridham from NHL head office. Will likely handle contracts. Could be announced today.

Jeff Veillette ‏@Jeffler 34s
Brandon Pridham was a Senior Director at the NHL. Will be the Leafs' new cap guy. Similar approach to TFC hiring Tim Bezbatchenko last year

James Mirtle ‏@mirtle now
Leafs have hired Brandon Pridham as essentially their capologist. Comes from NHL head office.
 
hockeylover said:
Damien Cox ‏@DamoSpin
New Leaf front office addition expected to be Brandon Pridham from NHL head office. Will likely handle contracts. Could be announced today.

Jeff Veillette ‏@Jeffler 34s
Brandon Pridham was a Senior Director at the NHL. Will be the Leafs' new cap guy. Similar approach to TFC hiring Tim Bezbatchenko last year

James Mirtle ‏@mirtle now
Leafs have hired Brandon Pridham as essentially their capologist. Comes from NHL head office.
Click to expand...

Can't be worse than the last guy.
 
hockeylover said:
Bob McCown ‏@FadooBobcat
Leiweke about to move back to LA to run the Clippers? Whisper won't go away. Wife moved back to So. Cal. already. #wehatewinter
Click to expand...
That'd be a pretty huge step back for him though, wouldn't it? He currently works for MLSE, which owns and/or operates the ACC, BMO Field, Ricoh Coliseum, Toronto FC, Toronto Marlies, Toronto Maple Leafs & Toronto Raptors. Before MLSE, he worked for AEG, which owns and/or operates The Saples Center, LA Lakers, LA Kings, LA Galaxy & Manchester Monarchs, among many other various sports properties around the globe.

As for the Clippers...they don't even own the building they play in, and are a stand-alone franchise at this point. It doesn't seem like there'd be much for Leiweke to do there; the only real benefit is that he'd be employed and living in LA again.
 
In the meantime, looking at the Leafs 14/15 schedule, it seems like there will be some changes this season with the new Rogers / NHL deal ...

- During Christmas weeks, there will be the usual HNIC on Saturday nights, but also the leafs will play on Sunday nights on 3 Sundays in December.

- Leafs fans should have no shortage of hockey during the holiday season, with the Leafs playing 12 games between Dec 13 and Jan 3. That's 12 games in 22 days.

- HNIC will continue to be broadcasted on CBC at prime time Sat nights for at least the next 4 years, but will not longer be attached to CBC only. Throughout the year there will be other non-Sat HNIC games, broadcasted on other channels such as Rogers Sportsnet. HNIC will continue to be hosted by Ron Maclean and Don Cherry, but Stroumboulopoulos, who started as a sports broadcaster, will be returning and join the other 2 as primary hosts of HNIC. Strobo, who is a well known Habs fan, say he will 'shelf his love for the Habs' when he's hosting the show.

- CityTV, for the first time ever (as far as I can remember anyways), will be broadcasting Leafs games ... all CityTV broadcasts will be on Sundays. This is good news as CityTV is a 'free' over the air channel.

- TSN will continue to broadcast games - 26 Leafs games in fact, but all of them will be regional games only and they will not have national broadcast. All Leafs games will be on the new NHL5 channel ... TSN spokesperson says the channel will not cost additional charges initially, but refuse to comment on how long this will continue.

- Rogers also mentions plans to offer more choices to more Canadian hockey fans, citing plans to simulcast other NHL games on CityTV or Rogers Sportsnet at Saturday primetime when the marquee matchup is on CBC HNIC. For Leafs fans though, this means very little because the Leafs game will be on CBC HNIC ... but if we end up in a lopesided game at least there's another NHL game to watch.
 
LeafGm said:
Well, that, and turning Toronto FC into a competitive team, I guess. Still, for all his bluster and promise coming in, he'd be tucking tail and running off pretty early in the game if he leaves now. Maybe Mr. and Mrs. Leiweke aren't eager for another taste of Canadian winter?
Click to expand...

If you came from California, and this past winter in Toronto(which extended well into "spring") was your first taste of Canadian winter....well, I couldn't exactly blame you for feeling that way.
 
Um, apparently we hired the founder of Extra Skater.

Maple Leafs hiring ExtraSkater.com founder, creating analytics department

Ever since it debuted, the hockey stats site ExtraSkater.com has been a mandatory destination for fans seeking a user-friendly, easy-to-understand approach to advanced analytics like corsi ratings.

This season, its founder will bring that insight exclusively to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

According to multiple sources, Darryl Metcalf is one of three advanced stats analysts that are in the process of joining the Leafs to work in newly created positions dedicated to hockey metrics. Cam Charron, a blogger that most recently worked with Yahoo Canada, is among that group as well.

Queries to Metcalf and the Leafs for comment were not returned.

Toronto made a significant splash earier this summer in advanced stats, hiring former Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds GM Kyle Dubas, a leader in the advocacy for advanced stats use by hockey managers, as their assistant GM under Dave Nonis. It’s expected this new department will be under him.

Metcalf and Charron join other big names hired this summer by NHL for advanced stats. Sunny Mehta, a former pro poker player, was hired by the New Jersey Devils. Tyler Dellow, a veteran hockey blogger, was hired by the Edmonton Oilers. Eric Tulsky of SB Nation was also hired by an undisclosed NHL team.

The hiring of Metcalf, however, would be a coup for the Leafs.

Not only is his site one of the most respected in the hockey world, it’s also one of the most popular … for other NHL teams. Our loss as hockey fans – the site will cease operation – is Toronto’s gain, as all of that site’s analysis and calculations will be kept in house.

Expect official titles to be announced with the department is finalized.
Click to expand...

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-p...-creating-analytics-department-181332725.html
 
number17 said:
In the meantime, looking at the Leafs 14/15 schedule, it seems like there will be some changes this season with the new Rogers / NHL deal ...

- During Christmas weeks, there will be the usual HNIC on Saturday nights, but also the leafs will play on Sunday nights on 3 Sundays in December.

- Leafs fans should have no shortage of hockey during the holiday season, with the Leafs playing 12 games between Dec 13 and Jan 3. That's 12 games in 22 days.

- HNIC will continue to be broadcasted on CBC at prime time Sat nights for at least the next 4 years, but will not longer be attached to CBC only. Throughout the year there will be other non-Sat HNIC games, broadcasted on other channels such as Rogers Sportsnet. HNIC will continue to be hosted by Ron Maclean and Don Cherry, but Stroumboulopoulos, who started as a sports broadcaster, will be returning and join the other 2 as primary hosts of HNIC. Strobo, who is a well known Habs fan, say he will 'shelf his love for the Habs' when he's hosting the show.

- CityTV, for the first time ever (as far as I can remember anyways), will be broadcasting Leafs games ... all CityTV broadcasts will be on Sundays. This is good news as CityTV is a 'free' over the air channel.

- TSN will continue to broadcast games - 26 Leafs games in fact, but all of them will be regional games only and they will not have national broadcast. All Leafs games will be on the new NHL5 channel ... TSN spokesperson says the channel will not cost additional charges initially, but refuse to comment on how long this will continue.

- Rogers also mentions plans to offer more choices to more Canadian hockey fans, citing plans to simulcast other NHL games on CityTV or Rogers Sportsnet at Saturday primetime when the marquee matchup is on CBC HNIC. For Leafs fans though, this means very little because the Leafs game will be on CBC HNIC ... but if we end up in a lopesided game at least there's another NHL game to watch.
Click to expand...

Don't you remember having to watch Leaf games on "the New VR"?
 
Volcanologist said:
If you came from California, and this past winter in Toronto(which extended well into "spring") was your first taste of Canadian winter....well, I couldn't exactly blame you for feeling that way.
Click to expand...

Brought my gf up from Mexico last July, this was her first Canadian winter in 8 years....she was absolutely mental by mid february.

I don't blame her one bit. Another winter like last and I'll be selling my house and commuting to Alberta from Vegas/Cali/Mexico
 
hockeylover said:
Um, apparently we hired the founder of Extra Skater.

Ever since it debuted, the hockey stats site ExtraSkater.com has been a mandatory destination for fans seeking a user-friendly, easy-to-understand approach to advanced analytics like corsi ratings.

This season, its founder will bring that insight exclusively to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

According to multiple sources, Darryl Metcalf is one of three advanced stats analysts that are in the process of joining the Leafs to work in newly created positions dedicated to hockey metrics. Cam Charron, a blogger that most recently worked with Yahoo Canada, is among that group as well.

Queries to Metcalf and the Leafs for comment were not returned.

Toronto made a significant splash earier this summer in advanced stats, hiring former Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds GM Kyle Dubas, a leader in the advocacy for advanced stats use by hockey managers, as their assistant GM under Dave Nonis. It’s expected this new department will be under him.

Metcalf and Charron join other big names hired this summer by NHL for advanced stats. Sunny Mehta, a former pro poker player, was hired by the New Jersey Devils. Tyler Dellow, a veteran hockey blogger, was hired by the Edmonton Oilers. Eric Tulsky of SB Nation was also hired by an undisclosed NHL team.

The hiring of Metcalf, however, would be a coup for the Leafs.

Not only is his site one of the most respected in the hockey world, it’s also one of the most popular … for other NHL teams. Our loss as hockey fans – the site will cease operation – is Toronto’s gain, as all of that site’s analysis and calculations will be kept in house.

Expect official titles to be announced with the department is finalized.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-p...-creating-analytics-department-181332725.html
Click to expand...

Analytics Department....that's one hell of a 180...
 
hockeylover said:
Um, apparently we hired the founder of Extra Skater.

Maple Leafs hiring ExtraSkater.com founder, creating analytics department



http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-p...-creating-analytics-department-181332725.html
Click to expand...

The 3rd better not be ****ing Burtch

I'm entirely cool with the Metcalf hiring though. Cam Charron I'll have to read some of his stuff and see what I think, but whatever. As long as these guys are just data miners and not decision makers (sign Grabovski!!! = Toews!!!!) then I'm very happy that we're finally not 3-5 years behind the curve anymore.
 
Chris Johnston
If you're hiring a capologist you could do much worse than Brandon Pridham. New #leafs exec had been NHL's resource to teams for CBA issues.



He likely had a big role in writing the damn thing.
 
Last edited:
It's ****ing lovely to see our organization making smart decisions.

Next they're start...I don't know...winning shit. Who would the hockey world make fun of then?
 
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