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Happy Friday everyone. My weekend got off to a bad start because I took the under on the 49ers and Rams game. The first 12 seconds were OK. Maybe some links will make the rest of my picks better.
The Edmonton Oilers cut 8 players from the roster yesterday. As is typical with early cuts, there was nothing surprising. Dawgbone88 gives us the names. (Copper&Blue)
As most of you know, I’m not thrilled with Jesse Puljujarvi. The problem is that now that other people are seeing him play more, it’s turning into a dog pile. It’s fair and accurate to say he hasn’t been good, but lets not start egging his house just yet. A few weeks ago I said “I am not a fan of Puljujarvi and think he’s going to be about as effective at the NHL level as a one-legged cat trying to bury his turd on a frozen pond”. I still feel that way but I think everyone and their dead aunt has started taking it too far. Lets take a breather. It’s ok if he’s not an NHL player right now. It’s ok if he’s never a top liner. As long as we’re seeing some improvement this year it’s all that matters, albeit disappointing. This isn’t a link, it’s just something I feel needs to be said because well... I’m on twitter.
The Joffrey Lupul carnival just added another ring to the circus. After he publicly called out the Leafs for cheating the LTIR system, he retracted his comments and said he won’t see a second opinion. Well, the NHL begs to differ. They’re now sending their own doctor over to examine Lupul and report back. James Mirtle the turtle gives us his thoughts on the matter. Personally I won’t be surprised if Lou Lamoriello has a couple goons to ensure that Lupul won’t pass that. (The Athletic)
Elliotte Friedman releases his 31* thoughts. This feature is always a must-read for hockey fans. (Sportsnet)
Here’s a decent article on why NHL players hate analytics. It’s not too surprising really, I can’t imagine that Rasmus Ristolainen and Ryan Murray enjoy being told that they’re not good at hockey by a bunch of internet commenters. (TSN)
That’s all for today. I’m not 100% on this but I do believe that there will be an original article on this site this weekend so be sure to check back. If I’m wrong, be sure to let me know about it on twitter. Enjoy your weekend!