You don't have to have a background in the product to be a CEO of a major company.
- MJL

Isn't that the point that was being made?

With the injury, probably not a whole lot better.
- MJL

I am very interested to see how he does if he isn't injured.
he could very easily end up on the 2nd line and get 50-60 points if he stays healthy.
His increased production could offset the difference between hartnell and umberger.

Scott Laughton = Mike Ricci
- Tomahawk

Laughton > Ricci

The kid can play!

I think Laviolette saw him being a Jagr replacement, where his lack of speed & deficiencies in his two way game could be mitigated, by playing him with guys who were faster & could get him the puck where he can do damage.

Berube seems to want more skating & 200 foot commitment
- Jsaquella

yeah, except that unless he played with G or Jake, that wasn't going to happen under Lava either and to do that would have meant he played wing.....the whole thing makes less and less sense as time goes on.
it like Homer or Ed wanted Vinny so they just went and got him just because they could.

Of course it is. By I envision the best team possible as Lecavalier playing center on a scoring line producing offense. Which is the best quality he can provide for a team in my opinion. I don't think that would happen with Lecavalier playing on the 4th line. If he's not capable of producing offense on a scoring line. Then I think the best course of action is to trade him. I think having a more solid 2 way player who can play well defensively in a checking role would make the best team. But of course, I understand that they might not be able to move Lecavalier.
- MJL

Yup, I think we're stuck with him for now, a difficult situation for all.

It worked in the regular season, but not surprising it fell apart in the PO's where most teams are 4-lines deep after the TDL adds. I think it could work again if the wingers are of better quality... for example, I could see a trio like Raffl/Vinny/Akeson consistently driving play against other team's poorer lines.
- Tomahawk

Agreed. To me, the key is to have four lines effective enough that they don't have to resort to the sort of shielding they did last season. Part of the reason Couturier saw such a heavy workload in deployment is that Berube obviously felt he couldn't rely on the Schenn/Simmonds/Lecavalier line to provide solid defensive play.

If your 4th line is Vinny, flanked by Rinaldo/Rosehill & a guy like Hall, it is a waste.

If you are given guidelines for conduct and clear objectives from ownership, then are rewarded or held accountable for your successes and failures, then it doesn't matter where a manager comes from, as long as they have the requisite intelligence to grasp the concepts of the position they hold.

Every single skill a human has is acquired and refined over time, and you need multiple skills to succeed at anything in life. A guy from Harvard will not necessarily be a better general manager on Day 1 than a guy from Flin Flon, Manitoba, because the guy from Harvard won't have every single skill required, either.

You just have to be smart enough to master those skills you don't have as quickly as possible -- and, again, more likely than not, you will be held accountable for your failures and rewarded for your successes, as defined by ownership.

I love hockey. To me its the fastest non motorized sport in the world with quick decisions and pure athletisism. However, I do not like the way the rules are written for certain things. Like for instance, and I had this discussion with Bill about a year ago, how is it that when a player receives a career ending injury on the ice(ie: Pronger, Laperriere) and is not allowed to say he is retired due to these reason or their salary is added to the sslary cap. I believe that is a player, age regardless, is injured playing the sport and he must call it a career, the full salary cap should not be counted against the team. But if you wanna sign a 15 year 100 million dollar contract and then bolt 2 years later for Russia, it only cost your team $250,000 against your cap (ie: Kolvachuk).

Now how are you allowed to play in the NHL, the most competetive league in the world....but not the AHL at 19 years old? IMO dumb rules!!!

If your 4th line is Vinny, flanked by Rinaldo/Rosehill & a guy like Hall, it is a waste.
- Jsaquella

Praying we don't see anything like that, anymore.

My view on Laughton is simple. If he's one of the 9 best forwards in camp, keep him. If he's not, let him go to the Phantoms and play top line minutes in all situations and be ready for an injury call up.

If he doesn't kick the door down, and make it impossible for the Flyers to keep him, I'd rather he stay in the AHL for a bit
- Jsaquella

I'm ok with him centering the 4th line, provided he gets occasional spot shifts on other lines and sees regular time on the pk.

Isn't that the point that was being made?
- Tomahawk

It looked like the point was to potentially avoid people who are involved in the "product", as they are set in their ways or something. I don't think it matters either way. Just find the right people

If he's one of the best 9 guys in camp, I'd rather see him at LW with Couturier & Read(assuming Berube keeps his defined pairs intact) than playing 8-10 minutes with Zac Attack.

Now, if the 4th line is Bellemare, Laughton & Raffl, great, play him at 4th line
- Jsaquella

Even Bellemare-Laughton-Hall would be fine with me.

I'm ok with him centering the 4th line, provided he gets occasional spot shifts on other lines and sees regular time on the pk.
- BiggE

I agree, with the caveat that he isn't playing with Rinaldo and Rosehill. (theoretically)

If the Line is Pebbles Laughton and Tickt, and they are all getting time killing penalties and taking a regular shift, I think 10-12 minutes a game at the highest level does him no harm.

Isn't that the point that was being made?
- Tomahawk

No the point that was trying to be made, and rather poorly. Was that teams should stop hiring ex players, for team management positions. But the author didn't offer anything to back that premise up. Other then Players are rarely encouraged to freelance and think creatively. Obviously that is really a poor generalization. Just as a CEO doesn't have to have a background in the product to be the company's CEO. Having a background in the product doesn't preclude a CEO from becoming the CEO. Or a good one for that matter.

I think the real point of the article was missed. And that is to surround yourself with people from different perspectives. And not that teams should stop hiring ex players for management positions.

yeah, except that unless he played with G or Jake, that wasn't going to happen under Lava either and to do that would have meant he played wing.....the whole thing makes less and less sense as time goes on.
it like Homer or Ed wanted Vinny so they just went and got him just because they could.
- nails

I think eventually he would have ended up as the RW with Giroux and Hartnell under Laviolette.

I love hockey. To me its the fastest non motorized sport in the world with quick decisions and pure athletisism. However, I do not like the way the rules are written for certain things. Like for instance, and I had this discussion with Bill about a year ago, how is it that when a player receives a career ending injury on the ice(ie: Pronger, Laperriere) and is not allowed to say he is retired due to these reason or their salary is added to the sslary cap. I believe that is a player, age regardless, is injured playing the sport and he must call it a career, the full salary cap should not be counted against the team. But if you wanna sign a 15 year 100 million dollar contract and then bolt 2 years later for Russia, it only cost your team $250,000 against your cap (ie: Kolvachuk).

Now how are you allowed to play in the NHL, the most competetive league in the world....but not the AHL at 19 years old? IMO dumb rules!!!
- BernieKorch

If the motor is what's creating the action, it's not a sport. Just my take (inviting people with extreme examples to discredit my statement).

I think eventually he would have ended up as the RW with Giroux and Hartnell under Laviolette.
- Jsaquella

I remember in interviews before the season started that Vinny said he was interested in playing RW on Girouxs line. It was one of the reasons he signed here.

It looked like the point was to potentially avoid people who are involved in the "product", as they are set in their ways or something. I don't think it matters either way. Just find the right people
- eayost

Ultimately it is about the right people giving good information to the right exec who uses those people/information in a way that leads to good decisions.
it's rarely about one person at the top.
that article should have been more geared towards it being better to have multiple kinds of people giving different viewpoints within an organization with those viewpoints having equal input funneled to the top.

I think eventually he would have ended up as the RW with Giroux and Hartnell under Laviolette.
- Jsaquella

Agreed

I agree, with the caveat that he isn't playing with Rinaldo and Rosehill. (theoretically)

If the Line is Pebbles Laughton and Tickt, and they are all getting time killing penalties and taking a regular shift, I think 10-12 minutes a game at the highest level does him no harm.
- MBFlyerfan

Yup, that would be excellent.

Bill Meltzer: Meltzer's Musings: Laughton's Development, Ashbee's Birthday, Quick Hits
- bmeltzer

Handing Laughton a fouth line center role is exactly as stated. Handing him a job by high draft position. To me he's gotta be in the top nine, at center. This won't happen without trade or injury.

Gates founded Microsoft, but Ballmer was the hands-on company manager... he wasn't a computer guy.
- Tomahawk

Ballmer was with Microsoft almost since the beginning of the company.

So, while he was not a technology guy, I really don't think he had to be by the time he became CEO almost 20 years after Ballmer joined the firm.

Besides: If you're a CEO and you're making day to day technology decisions for a bazillion dollar company, you're doing it wrong.

/removes nerd hat with the propeller on top

It looked like the point was to potentially avoid people who are involved in the "product", as they are set in their ways or something. I don't think it matters either way. Just find the right people
- eayost

I don't think he meant you avoid players, just that the pool of candidates needs to be expanded beyond ex-players/sons of ex-players for the best results.

I love hockey. To me its the fastest non motorized sport in the world with quick decisions and pure athletisism. However, I do not like the way the rules are written for certain things. Like for instance, and I had this discussion with Bill about a year ago, how is it that when a player receives a career ending injury on the ice(ie: Pronger, Laperriere) and is not allowed to say he is retired due to these reason or their salary is added to the sslary cap. I believe that is a player, age regardless, is injured playing the sport and he must call it a career, the full salary cap should not be counted against the team. But if you wanna sign a 15 year 100 million dollar contract and then bolt 2 years later for Russia, it only cost your team $250,000 against your cap (ie: Kolvachuk).

Now how are you allowed to play in the NHL, the most competetive league in the world....but not the AHL at 19 years old? IMO dumb rules!!!
- BernieKorch

Because the CHL-the three major-junior hockey leagues in Canada-are a for profit venture and the kids that are drafted high are often times the best way to sell tickets.

The 20 year old rule doesn't apply to kids from US colleges or high schools or kids playing overseas. It only applies to the CHL players.

The over 35 rule, in cases like Pronger and Laperriere is stupid.

If the motor is what's creating the action, it's not a sport. Just my take (inviting people with extreme examples to discredit my statement).
- jmatchett383

If there is no defense it is not a sport. That is my criteria.

Golf is a game. Track is a competition. etc etc etc.

:cue all the indignant responses:

(of course this doesn't imply that golf or track or anything else I don't consider a sport is in any way not difficult or requires less athletic skill.)