Leafs at the World Championships

[Kin]

No, he doesn't have to justify himself to me personally, however, being a public figure, being made millions of dollars, collected from fans like myself, it might be nice gesture for him to at least make it known why he declined to play for his country.

Why? The most disastrous thing that could happen right now for the Leafs is Kessel getting hurt in the WC's. As a fan, and as a fan who is fine with the possibility of Kessel being traded, the last thing I want him to be doing is risking injury in a meaningless tournament.

I don't care why he isn't playing and I'm glad that he's not.

 

[Highlander]

Nik hit the head of that nail, completely agree.

 

[MetalRaven]

Meaningless and no one cares about it? Isn't that a little bit harsh Nik? One of the main reasons I watch the NHL at all is because of the Gretzky to Lemieux sequence and watching Ranford (I think a year later) completely steal games (I was young and impressionable)

As a fan id love to see Kessel paired with some of the NHL's finest. For one if we are looking to get rid of him and he pairs well with another line-mate it opens trade discussions that may never have existed. If not and we are looking to keep him (devils advocate) then at least we can see him in other situations or if he clicks with another line-mate we might be able to get him or someone like him. As a player he can show himself off and get the stink of a losing season off and get the thrill of winning back. It also helps show what you are capable of in a playoff-like atmosphere.

Let me be clear here though, I do not in anyway think less of Kessel nor do I feel people should criticize him or anyone else for choosing not to play.  You are absolutely correct in saying there is injury risk and i'd say greater risk of injury then the regular season simply based on the chance of someone on the lower scale of talent, to be kind, taking a run at a superstar. Playing in a playoff-like atmosphere means playoff-like bruises and bumps. As one of the people criticizing Kessel for lack of effort/poor attitude I dont think this is an example of either.

(unrelated side note: the word "would" has never made me laugh so hard thanks Nik)

 

[Kin]

Meaningless and no one cares about it? Isn't that a little bit harsh Nik? One of the main reasons I watch the NHL at all is because of the Gretzky to Lemieux sequence and watching Ranford (I think a year later) completely steal games (I was young and impressionable)

Gretzky and Lemieux never played in a World Championships together. I think you're confusing that with the Canada Cup which was something different entirely.

 

[Kin]

Also, as CtB alluded to, these are the NHL players who are confirmed for the US:

Matt Hendricks
Marc Arcobello
Trevor Lewis
Ben Smith
Jeremy Morin
Justin Faulk
Jake Gardiner
John Moore
Connor Murphy
Zach Redmond
Torey Krug

Then there's a bunch of college kids(and, to be fair, Jack Eichel). So Kessel wouldn't be paired with the NHL's finest, he'd be on a team of minor and forgettable players. Leaving aside that Kessel's NHL career is going to be far more germane to any trade discussions than anything he could do at the WC's would be, there's just not much in the way of opportunity there.

Canada's in a bit of a lucky spot where they can say to young players that if they don't play in the WC's they might not make the World Cup or Olympic roster. The USA doesn't have anywhere near the depth to say that. They'll take whoever and, accordingly, basically every decent American NHLer passed on playing at the World Championships because, again, nobody really cares about the tournament.

 

[Heroic Shrimp]

Also, as CtB alluded to, these are the NHL players who are confirmed for the US:

Matt Hendricks
Marc Arcobello
Trevor Lewis
Ben Smith
Jeremy Morin
Justin Faulk
Jake Gardiner
John Moore
Connor Murphy
Zach Redmond
Torey Krug

All of those guys (minus Justin Faulk) combined have 521 career NHL points.  Phil has 520.

 

[MetalRaven]

Meaningless and no one cares about it? Isn't that a little bit harsh Nik? One of the main reasons I watch the NHL at all is because of the Gretzky to Lemieux sequence and watching Ranford (I think a year later) completely steal games (I was young and impressionable)

Gretzky and Lemieux never played in a World Championships together. I think you're confusing that with the Canada Cup which was something different entirely.

Yup then I apologize ...I was young as I said (just checked I was 9)...for some reason I thought that the Canada Cup became the World Cup then the World Championships...and yeah...quite the uhhhh star-studded lineup the USA are running with...point taken I tend to look at the tournament from Canadian eyes only...didn't realize how sad their roster really was. The Canadian roster on the other hand...

 

[Al14]

Not to turn this into a Kessel thread...but why isn't he playing?  Is he hurt?  I thought I read somewhere that he wasn't hurt.

Very simple answer, Kessel is in hockey for the money alone.  There's no money in playing for your country at the World Championships!

This is why players don't want to play in the Toronto market. We have no idea why Kessel is not going to play at the worlds. There are dozens of legitimate reasons for his decision (one of them, off the top of my mind is that his career is in turmoil after this horrible season, and he needs time to figure it out), but the media have made some comments about his play, and now the fans are turning on him like a pack of wolves. Now, even if it is determined the reason for his play this season was due to an undisclosed injury, he is as good as gone, because of all the venom that has been spewed at him.

Well, maybe Kessel should have made his reasons known as to why he is not playing for the U.S. of A.

If Kessel doesn't like how he is now being treated by some of us Leaf fans, maybe he should have played hockey like he cared this season. 

I'm not a fan of BIG MONEY hockey players playing like DOG POOP! 

Sorry if I upset you!  :-[

Maybe he doesn't need to justify himself because he's an adult and not someone behoven to your approval..........

Well, hopefully, he'll be traded to another team that will motivate him to actually earn his pay cheques!  I'm sick of his one dimensional, oh please don't hit me, apathetic and uninspired play with our Leafs. 

No, he doesn't have to justify himself to me personally, however, being a public figure, being made millions of dollars, collected from fans like myself, it might be nice gesture for him to at least make it known why he declined to play for his country.

Kessel is not playing playoff hockey now, so, why couldn't he start his off season training by playing in an international tournament. In my opinion, his lack of interest in playing in the WC just makes me think he's not interested in the game itself, unless he's getting huge sums of money to do so.  Even then, his commitment to play a solid 2 way games is very lacking.

How much does he get paid in the Olympics? Big bucks?

An Olympic medal!

 

[Kin]

Yup then I apologize ...I was young as I said (just checked I was 9)...for some reason I thought that the Canada Cup became the World Cup then the World Championships...and yeah...quite the uhhhh star-studded lineup the USA are running with...point taken I tend to look at the tournament from Canadian eyes only...didn't realize how sad their roster really was. The Canadian roster on the other hand...

No need to apologize to me.

Like I said earlier, I really do think that the roster Canada puts together has a lot to do with where the tournament is being held. Look at this year's roster for instance, with the tournament being held in a great old-world city like Prague during their version of Oktoberfest, vs. last year's tournament in Belarus.  Even then though, the roster they put together is almost entirely one of young players but that makes perfect sense too. I'm guessing that if you're married, especially with kids, the "Yeah, honey, I know you've put up with a NHL travel schedule for 7 months but I'm gonna go play three more weeks of hockey in Eastern Europe" conversation doesn't go that well.

I get that the World Championships has some pull in Europe and I get why hockey junkies, especially those whose NHL teams aren't in the playoffs, would watch but I really don't think they mean much to the players involved and I don't think they ever really prove anything other than what country sort of lucked out in who was available and willing.

 

[MetalRaven]

Yup then I apologize ...I was young as I said (just checked I was 9)...for some reason I thought that the Canada Cup became the World Cup then the World Championships...and yeah...quite the uhhhh star-studded lineup the USA are running with...point taken I tend to look at the tournament from Canadian eyes only...didn't realize how sad their roster really was. The Canadian roster on the other hand...

No need to apologize to me.

Like I said earlier, I really do think that the roster Canada puts together has a lot to do with where the tournament is being held. Look at this year's roster for instance, with the tournament being held in a great old-world city like Prague during their version of Oktoberfest, vs. last year's tournament in Belarus.  Even then though, the roster they put together is almost entirely one of young players but that makes perfect sense too. I'm guessing that if you're married, especially with kids, the "Yeah, honey, I know you've put up with a NHL travel schedule for 7 months but I'm gonna go play three more weeks of hockey in Eastern Europe" conversation doesn't go that well.

I get that the World Championships has some pull in Europe and I get why hockey junkies, especially those whose NHL teams aren't in the playoffs, would watch but I really don't think they mean much to the players involved and I don't think they ever really prove anything other than what country sort of lucked out in who was available and willing.

Not if you say it like that no...but how about "Hey honey! European Vacation!" 

I plan on watching them if I can catch a stream...I like cheering for winning teams and have no problem with 6-1 games when we are most likely to be on the 6 side of things. I like seeing players like Hall play with well pretty much the rest of the forward crew. Not as good as the Olympics roster but still the best NHL team roster.

 

[KW Sluggo]

Also, as CtB alluded to, these are the NHL players who are confirmed for the US:

Matt Hendricks
Marc Arcobello
Trevor Lewis
Ben Smith
Jeremy Morin
Justin Faulk
Jake Gardiner
John Moore
Connor Murphy
Zach Redmond
Torey Krug

All of those guys (minus Justin Faulk) combined have 521 career NHL points.  Phil has 520.

That may be, but it appears that US Hockey doesn't give a Faulk.

 

[bustaheims]

Not if you say it like that no...but how about "Hey honey! European Vacation!" 

"Hey, so I know the kids still have school for another month, but . . . "

How far do you think that conversation is going to go?

 

[Kin]

Not if you say it like that no...but how about "Hey honey! European Vacation!" 

I obviously can't speak for everyone but I'm guessing that if I sold my girlfriend on a "European vacation" that was actually three weeks in Bratislava or Helsinki while I was working most of the time I would soon be in the market for a new girlfriend.

 

[Tigger]

Worse places than Helsinki to find a new girlfriend.

 

[Highlander]

A friend who has been their says Iceland has the most beautiful women?and very friendly to boot.

 

[Bender]

A friend who has been their says Iceland has the most beautiful women?and very friendly to boot.

They jump on foreigners because they're a very homogenous people. There's an app that helps determine if your potential boyfriend or girlfriend is closely related to you or not. And also one of the highest STDs per capita!

 

[Kin]

We're all aware that Helsinki isn't in Iceland, right?

 

[Heroic Shrimp]

We're all aware that Helsinki isn't in Iceland, right?

Yeah, I think this is just the thread for talking about random countries that have nothing to do with hockey.

 

[Bender]

We're all aware that Helsinki isn't in Iceland, right?

That's some small African nation, right?

 

[Highlander]

its in the neighbourhood and yes any country where the woman are loose is going to have pretty hi STD' ration.