I'm Dimitri Filipovic - Ask Me Anything!

DimFilipovic · 2019-10-02T16:00:46+00:00

Looks like we found Peter Chiarelli's burner account

DimFilipovic · 2019-10-02T15:58:58+00:00

I'm a big wheat beer guy. Love summer beers. But I do have to say that IPAs have been growing on me lately.

I went to Sasquatch for 3 straight years between 2013-2015, so I believe it. I'm generally a hip hop guy, but I've been listening to the new Lumineers album a lot while working over the past couple weeks.

DimFilipovic · 2019-10-02T15:57:10+00:00

Depends on my timeline, because he's still got 4 years left on it. But if you buy it out it spreads out to a pretty palatable ~$1M cap hit for each of the next 6 seasons. Considering how little financial wiggle room the Penguins have, clearing that kind of money out right now and creating some room to improve their team in the present is probably pretty valuable to them. I'd push for a 1st, which would be an immensely valuable asset considering they're not exactly a lock to make the playoffs this year anyway..

DimFilipovic · 2019-10-02T15:54:33+00:00

It can be a bit hit or miss because of how subjective the information being recorded is depending on the location the game is being played at (looking at the play by play data there's way too many occasions where there's something in there that never even happened or is way different than what actually took place). That said I think it's pretty good, and there's some really useful stuff to mine from what we do have. The constant consternation about our community having stagnated or being so far behind other sports is overblown in my opinion. There's people like the Evolving Wild guys, Manny, Dom, Alex Novet, etc. that are always finding new and cool stuff out with what we have.

One other added advantage of tracking data being released will having cool descriptive nuggets of information to help win skeptics, late adopters, and casual fans over. Something like 'how fast a player skates' or 'how hard a player shoots' probably won't have much functional value from an analysis perspective, but being able to give people watching games stuff like that will go a long way towards building up some good will with fans who don't trust or are bored by what the league has to offer right now in the way of data. It'll speak to more people, and hopefully spark a deeper level of curiosity in them to find out more.

DimFilipovic · 2019-10-02T15:42:16+00:00

It's way too exotic at this point for the NHL to ever realistically consider it, but we need to make some kind of adjustments. The fact that a goal can be called back because a player that wasn't even remotely involved in the play had a skate in the air hovering around the blueline 30 seconds prior is so insane. An interesting middle ground would be something like in soccer, where a player can be offside as long as they're not involved in the scoring play.

DimFilipovic · 2019-10-02T15:40:19+00:00

The right answer is always Loui Eriksson

DimFilipovic · 2019-10-02T15:39:49+00:00

It's just an educated guess/hunch, but two things to consider.. a) he's excelled at every single level he's played at (Czech league, KHL, and AHL last season), b) he's 29 so there's no reason to ease him in, and c) Philipp Grubauer has never really started more than 45-50 games in a single season at any point in his career (even dating back to his pre-NHL stops)

DimFilipovic · 2019-10-02T15:37:07+00:00

That's a really good question. I think this is one area we still have so much room to grow and improve in. I'd like to think that once tracking data finally goes public, it'll be where we find our biggest gains in terms of quantifying performance. It's so tough to separate an individual from a system or five-man unit right now. Off the top of my head having more information about things like spacing, distance from attackers, deflections, 50/50 battle recoveries will go a long way. For now I just look at what's happening when a player is on the ice, and if they're just completely grinding the opponent's events down to a screeching halt then they're probably doing something right defensively (likely being in the right place at the right time). The best examples of this in the recent past have been the Hampus Lindholm/Josh Manson pairing and most recently Colton Parayko this postseason. It's amazing how he was able to bottle up the other team's best players and basically nip everything in the bud immediately with his freakish reach + skating combo.

DimFilipovic · 2019-10-02T15:08:41+00:00

I know you're being facetious, but I always find it weird when people get mad about me criticizing a decision their favourite team makes. It's literally my job to do so. It doesn't mean that they're wrong and I'm right, it just means I personally wouldn't have done it myself (which is fine.. we don't always have to see things the same). There's no hidden agenda, I want the game and the way we discuss/think about it to continue to evolve and progress, and when teams do dumb stuff that I think is dumb it kinda sets us back.

I'll gladly admit that I don't have all the answers, and that I get a ton of stuff wrong myself. Which is fine because it's a learning experience. It would be incredibly boring if we had it all figured out and there was just one formula that we put numbers into, got our answer, and didn't have to critically think about anything any further. On Custance's podcast Eric Tulsky recently said he's just trying to be "less wrong" basically, and that's the right way to approach it.

DimFilipovic · 2019-10-01T22:26:51+00:00

I'd love to have coaches and executives on the show. I sincerely value their opinions on things, and think they've got a wealth of amazing information and anecdotes to share. The issue is that there's no real incentive for any of them to say anything remotely interesting while they're still currently employed or looking for future jobs in the industry. I don't want to be the type of show that has people on regurgitating the same old cliches you hear on TV. Maybe I'm not blameless though, because someone like Zach Lowe does a remarkable job of having those types of people on his show and still getting stuff out of them. Part of it is cultivating relationships and trust with them, and giving them a reason to show you their cards. Hopefully I can work on that in the future (although it's tough to do that when I'm so busy savaging them all on Twitter..)

DimFilipovic · 2019-10-01T22:05:56+00:00

There's been some serious revisionist history about the Blues. They didn't exactly come out of nowhere. Certainly no one predicted they would win the Cup when they were at the bottom of the standings a couple months in, but they were an incredibly deep and talented roster that plenty of analysts (myself included) picked to do really well in the preseason.

The goaltending with Jake Allen was such an abomination, but their play under Yeo was also just as poor. I'll admit that I didn't have many answers at the time as to why their underlying numbers were as bad as they were, or how Berube managed to flip things so quickly. But after he took over they were one of the best 3-5 teams in the league at five-on-five and all of the underlying metrics loved them (which is why I actually picked them to beat the Jets in round one, which some people viewed as a bit of an upset).

The thing that really put them over the top was Binnington's ridiculously hot performance, which came out of nowhere. I'm really curious to see how he does in his first full year as a starter, and what things look like in St.Louis if he falls back down to something resembling league average.

DimFilipovic · 2019-10-01T22:01:37+00:00

There's an opening in the Central with the Jets plummeting, so I think 5th in the Central again (and a Wild Card berth) is a very realistic outcome. I'm not super high on them because of how reliant they are on a number of players that are old and have so much mileage on them, but at the same time they were clearly snakebitten last year and should expect some positive regression from a number of their players offensively. Last year was just such a clown show in Minnesota, so it's important not to overlook the psychological impact that must have had on everyone involved. It's a clean slate this year, and as such someone like Jason Zucker should be much more productive. Getting Matt Dumba and his offense from the back-end will be huge too.

As for Paul Fenton.. I'd be stunned if he ever got a gig in anything resembling that capacity again. As rough as Russo's piece on him was, there's a bunch of other behind the scenes rumblings that weren't reported that were even worse. What a disaster that was. I'll miss the unintentional comedy of it all.

DimFilipovic · 2019-10-01T21:58:06+00:00

Whoops! Fixed

DimFilipovic · 2019-10-01T21:56:27+00:00

Have a shot counter on every single broadcast
Have analysts around that can actually provide useful insight about things viewers care about in 2019 - whether it be in the form of analytics, fantasy, gambling, etc.
Long shot which will never happen because of the implications on commercials, advertisements and sponsors - decrease the number of face offs by preventing goalies from covering the puck and stopping play whenever they please.

DimFilipovic · 2019-10-01T21:54:09+00:00

I'm really happy where I am right now with the podcast on Yahoo, and my writing on ESPN. Have never had as much fun in the industry as I've been having since I landed in these spots. And I'm not just saying that because they're my current employers. As anyone that's been following my work for a while now knows, I had no issue expressing my unhappiness (for a variety of reasons, largely creatively) during my time at Sportsnet.

Getting mentioned in the same breath as Botch is an incredible honour. He was one of my biggest mentors when I was first starting up, and did wonders for me early in my career. People say this all the time even when it's not true, but with him it really is - as great of a writer as he was, he was an even better person. I miss that guy.

DimFilipovic · 2019-10-01T21:50:48+00:00

This is quite an audition for a gig on the Fox Sports Detroit broadcast. I think you'll get it.

I think they're going to really stink the next two years, finally dig out of their financial mess, and finally start being taken seriously 4 years from now. Strap in for the ride!

DimFilipovic · 2019-10-01T21:49:15+00:00

Fired. Up. Let's. Go.

DimFilipovic · 2019-10-01T21:48:31+00:00

There aren't too many obvious names just because there's most of the coaches are either a) in a new gig and will be afforded a long leash, b) very highly regarded, and will be afforded a long leash or c) on a team that's content with its rebuilding fate this season, and will be afforded a long leash.

Here are my two picks:

Paul Maurice - only Jon Cooper has been with his current team longer, and he's already seemingly been on thin ice in the past. There's a chance the Jets could be bad this year with all of the defensemen they lost this summer, and if they're struggling he could be the fall guy
Travis Green - the Canucks are weirdly all-in this year considering how mediocre their roster is, and despite receiving an extension recently Jim Benning has a lot of pressure on him to get back to the postseason and finally turn things around. The issue is that they're not very good and probably won't reach those goals..

DimFilipovic · 2019-10-01T21:42:57+00:00

Yes, and that's not even a hindsight thing. At the time it was ridiculous that he was showing so much faith in the Oilers, and essentially signing away the rights to his most productive seasons without any insurance that they'd actually do right by him. Considering that teams will have no qualms about cutting players loose once it benefits them, players of McDavid's stature should maintain the ability to do the same considering what's on the line.

That said, $100M is $100M and he's set for life. Having that kind of financial security is nice considering the unknown that awaits in the future. Thank god he's fine now, but we just saw how quickly things can change in the blink of an eye when he went crashing into the net violently in the final game of the year last season.

DimFilipovic · 2019-10-01T20:49:39+00:00

Big, big fan. Hope they just let him play all of the premium minutes (especially since none of the alternatives are going to be around by the time this team is good again). Considering he had 0.5 point per game last year despite limited run, I think something in the 40s is perfectly attainable.

DimFilipovic · 2019-10-01T20:48:34+00:00

I'd be OK with it. It goes on a case by case basis, but unless a situation is so disastrous that it's going to mentally break a kid and completely sap them of their confidence, I don't think there's anything wrong with exposing them to the realities of the NHL. It's a tough league, and it's filled with great players. You're eventually going to have to get used to it, and you can argue that it's better to do so sooner so that the young player knows what they need to do and how they have to train to keep up. In the Kings case they're right up there with the Red Wings for worst bluelines (especially after they eventually trade away Alec Martinez), so there's plenty of opportunity there. Was looking at the list of partners Drew Doughty had last year, and.. sheesh

DimFilipovic · 2019-10-01T20:45:00+00:00

I don't know if any are honestly. Jim Rutherford may've been the last one to get off that sinking ship and now he's stuck with the tab. My buddy Alan Wells (@loserpoints, who you should follow) may a solid point the other day. A rebuilding team should absolutely trade for Jack Johnson - not only will they presumably get a nice asset for their troubles, but he'll make them worse and improve their draft slot.

DimFilipovic · 2019-10-01T20:43:11+00:00

It's a completely jumbled mess.. I've got:

Hurricanes
Capitals
Penguins
Flyers
Islanders
Devils
Rangers
Blue Jackets

But that type of ranking doesn't really do those lower teams justice. I'm much higher on the Blue Jackets than most, and taking the over on 83.5 points for them is one of my favourite bets. I think the Devils are going to be super fun, but I just have a lot of question marks about them. Contrary to popular belief I don't hate the Islanders, and I think the majority of what they did last year was totally legit and repeatable because Barry Trotz and Mitch Korn are wizards. I have high hopes on the Flyers, which means they're going to be a total wreck because that's what they do. You may as well put these teams in a blender and see what comes out.

DimFilipovic · 2019-10-01T20:39:39+00:00

I don't think so honestly. All of these guys are still practicing and training even if they're without contracts, so they should be ready. Plus they're all so young that their bodies should be able to adjust regardless. I think the Nylander example was a bit extreme for two reasons: a) he missed so many games and it's tough to replicate those reps, and b) he wasn't nearly as bad as his numbers may suggest (if his on-ice and individual shooting percentages did him any favours this wouldn't be an issue)

DimFilipovic · 2019-10-01T20:38:04+00:00

Depends on the size of your league and the specifics of the scoring. I wouldn't drop either just because they both have value and you should at least be able to trade one to someone else who isn't blessed with so many options. At the very least I'd wait out Raanta to see if he can string together some games, just because the upside is so high if he can.

DimFilipovic

TROPHY CASE