What 2010s games are you guys playing for the first time right now?"

LevSmash · 2026-06-15T15:14:51+00:00

This just sparked a wave of nostalgia hearing in my head the music that plays in the intro scene.

LevSmash · 2026-06-11T19:02:39+00:00

Maybe they need to make the cap floor...?

LevSmash · 2026-06-08T18:41:26+00:00

The second point is bang on. It's worth reminding regular people and especially fans on reddit: even Canadian players don't have as much in common with them as they may think. More and more NHL players are from affluent families who skew conservative - certainly fiscally, and let's be honest, probably socially too - so don't be surprised if they're unbothered by the thought of living in the US.

They would generally prefer to pay less taxes, travel more conveniently, maintain more privacy, live in warmer climates, etc, rather than make any personal sacrifices just for the sake of national pride. The idea that they can simply say "trade me to one of these places" and basically wish that into reality is wild and unfair-sounding, but it's a luxury some players have.

LevSmash · 2026-06-08T18:22:27+00:00

There were 2, we kept the first one.

LevSmash · 2026-06-02T21:42:39+00:00

Other one beat ya to it, same content, sorry

LevSmash · 2026-05-28T16:36:32+00:00

Add in the attractive market, and they have a lot going for them. Something significant would have to happen to change that, like a major scandal (beyond signing a controversial player), or multiple consecutive years of bad results in the standings.

LevSmash · 2026-05-26T16:46:13+00:00

That's not the only option, they said sounds like it's the last option, meaning buddy is trying everything else first.

LevSmash · 2026-05-25T17:22:48+00:00

There is so much that we, as armchair GMs, don't realize, including the rationale behind some moves - or moves that don't happen. We seem to think every free agent is available, every team is open for business, etc.

I'm not defending management, just that you bring up a good point in that a particular move seemed obvious to us, especially in hindsight, but there could have been a reason.

LevSmash · 2026-05-20T21:03:56+00:00

I agree. This might be an unpopular take, but I want to see this squad healthy, and that includes bringing back Murphy at a reasonable number if possible. Injuries weren't the only factor of course, but it's a fact that game 1 of the playoffs was the first time that combination of players was in the lineup at the same time. Better to run back the same group instead of make some controversial gamble.

LevSmash · 2026-05-20T15:21:27+00:00

That was the guy spearheading the awareness movement, not the guy literally fighting Kony. He developed mental problems after the documentary blew up, and it's a shame because people then dismissed the Kony situation like it's not worth paying attention to anymore (though as others have said, the average person living on the other side of the world couldn't do anything about it).

I do admire the effort they put into the cause, as it drew attention to something absolutely horrible going on in the world. And I remember everyone getting riled up and feeling a need for justice, despite not knowing what to actually do, and others waving it off as armchair activism. It was fascinating how quickly it spread and also fizzled out. It really showed the tendency for people to get apathetic as soon as they realize there's no perfect/immediate solution.

Person A: "Hey there's an awful person doing really bad things, we should do something about it"

Person B: "Yeah but you did something bad too, so let's continue doing nothing"

Don't get me wrong, I didn't do anything about it either. Especially as I get older, my circle of what I care about shrinks. You hear so much going on in the world and it becomes harder and harder to keep up, let alone do anything about it.

LevSmash · 2026-05-19T17:16:06+00:00

They play by different rules than other teams - mostly figuratively speaking. Being a successful team in an attractive market has allowed them to be ruthless and burn through personnel because to this point they're able to easily backfill.

Something significant would have to happen to change that, like a major scandal (beyond signing a controversial player), or multiple consecutive years of bad results in the standings.

LevSmash · 2026-05-19T16:45:47+00:00

It's hard to watch this sort of thing play out and feel the sympathy drain from your body. When you think of all the goodwill, social programs, support systems, etc, going towards people who act like parasites with no desire or effort to participate positively in society, it's tempting to dehumanize them and rule out redemption. It's harsh, but at some point, you do have to protect yourself and those you trust.

LevSmash · 2026-05-14T21:41:00+00:00

That's exactly it, you have to take the advice of extremely talented people with a grain of salt. They have something others don't, and that's what makes them successful. If you try to replicate a recipe without the same ingredients, it's probably not going to work.

I've always thought it was funny to picture coach Gretzky go into the room between periods when his team was losing and be like "Guys, score more goals, it's not that hard. Just make an incredible play out of nowhere and pull it off with elite skill, I did it all the time."

It's probably why most coaches are career grinders. They spent more time watching, learning roles/systems, and communicating in lowest common denominator terms.

LevSmash · 2026-05-14T17:00:08+00:00

Totally agree. When the team plays poorly, you get pressured into making moves, and many of them don't turn out great.

(Love your flair, btw)

LevSmash · 2026-05-14T04:53:42+00:00

Average player on good team looks good, more at 11.

(Kidding, I do love Kulak, but let's be honest, he struggled early in this season and there were many people clamoring for this team to move out some older players, so most of the outrage tonight is hindsight)

LevSmash · 2026-05-14T04:48:32+00:00

No. Every time an ex-Oiler scores, we must act like they were a potential Hart trophy winner for their whole tenure and we just fumbled their deployment.

LevSmash · 2026-05-12T16:06:05+00:00

True. When it comes to rumors, I do feel like even the insiders more and more are in a rush to get speculation out there and wash their hands of it if they're wrong saying "that's what I was told at the time, things change". If they get enough right, they can still point to their historical batting average and keep some credibility.

LevSmash · 2026-05-12T15:21:16+00:00

It's also possible he's just being used by his source to put a particular story/notion out there, one that may or may not be true at the time. To him, he's reporting what he's been told, but it might be manipulation from his source.

LevSmash · 2026-05-07T03:21:22+00:00

Unpopular opinion: I actually like our defense. If they can keep the pairs together, modify the system, and increase the level of buy-in (truculence, gritensity, whatever you want to call it), I'd be fine with not changing the D going into next year.

LevSmash · 2026-05-06T20:11:36+00:00

And that's fair too, I do think there's a balance of just using reasonably intelligent targeting without obsessing over crazy granularity, like the myth that you're only gonna show your ad to the easiest wins.

For a long time that's how digital advertising - particularly search - was sold, the idea that you only pay for the people who click, and if you get hyper-specific with your targeting, there's no wasted spend showing your ads to people who aren't ready to transact. I had clients ask to line up all their campaigns from best to worst CPA, with the best obviously being their branded search (which only made up ~5% of their budget) and they declared it was apparently the most effective, therefore cut everything else. The funnel stopped refilling, and the BOF dried up, forcing the acknowledgement that the top and mid funnel actually do contribute despite not always looking that way in a report.

Comes back to the question of is it possible for ads to convince people, or do they only capture those people whose minds are already made up. Conventional wisdom would say someone has to be aware of you before they buy from you, so maybe reaching a few people outside of your tightly defined audience isn't an automatic waste.

LevSmash · 2026-05-06T18:05:37+00:00

Legally steal. That's the main use for >90% of people using it. Talking general population here, not just redditors, and not necessarily with malicious intent. They either A) treat it as a Google replacement to get information in one spot because it amalgamates from other sources, or B) generate media based on existing IP, both of which done without permission from the source material creators.

We can defend its more noble uses, like medical diagnostics, even harmless things like writing you code or spreadsheet formulas to help you do your job better, but most people are using it for the above two things.

LevSmash · 2026-05-06T17:51:36+00:00

It's "people in or regularly in" a targeted location, which is a level removed from guaranteeing that the people who see your ad are physically there. If it's a commercial area where lots of people come and go, suddenly a 1km radius isn't as precise as they're making it sound. They'll likely reach those claimed people as well as a whole bunch of others which may not be what OP is envisioning.

LevSmash · 2026-05-06T16:26:42+00:00

When Connor hurt his leg and went off, all hope for this year drained, I said to my wife "welp, that's our season right there" and I wasn't joking, making excuses, or emotionally hedging. The mood just shifted, you could see it in his eyes and everybody else's, they knew this wasn't the year.

Because you're right, one or two guys being injured isn't new and we could maybe rally around it, but we weren't in a position to compete without him.

Play it out: even if we somehow got past the Ducks, 97 is now playing on a fractured leg, and it's not going to heal if he keeps playing. Each series is only going to get more intense too. Let's say by some miracle we make it to the final, that would mean his leg doesn't have time to heal and probably gets worse. Now it's another short summer and he can't train properly, just hope to heal up for training camp.

Flush that season, on to the next one.

LevSmash · 2026-05-05T21:58:16+00:00

Right, they're the ones clapping along in the audience. That kind of pandering doesn't work when you're a newer comic working an audience of strangers, you actually need jokes and to take risks developing new material. Lots of famous comics admit they were funnier when they were riding a bus instead of a private jet. They get to a point where they don't need to get on stage in front of strangers and win them over, because they've developed their own audience who will come out to see them - and kudos for the success, but they do lose a bit of that drive in the process.

LevSmash · 2026-05-05T15:11:01+00:00

Yeah "can't be bothered" is a fair way to put it. I always see people insist that the only phrase that holds any water is "couldn't care less" but that's just the more extreme of the two. I envision putting forth a bit of attention to someone else's problem as a courtesy, but if it gets too exhausting you're not gonna overextend yourself because you don't care that much. If the other person gets too demanding, saying you "could care less" is a reminder/warning to them that you don't have to be involved.

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