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velvet-tread · 6 years

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A theory, or wild speculation, or whatever; anyway there’s some Bellarke

Here follows a collection of thoughts that don’t quite add up to a thesis yet

Season 5 had one of the best runs of episodes I’ve seen on this show ever - strong themes, great setups, impactful character beats. 9 straight episodes of near-perfection.

But imo it fell short in the last couple of episodes. How short depends on your perspective, but my feelings about it range from mildly disappointed to Jane Austen mourning weeds and little weepy handkerchiefs. Either way - the collapse into fudgy incoherence and loose ends actually undid all of the great work the show did in the first 9 episodes. WHICH IS FUCKING INFURIATING.

The show painstakingly put together so much excellent character and relationship set ups which either never materialised or didn’t pay off or just fizzled out. And now I’m left wondering what it all meant, which not only frustrates me on a viewer level but also makes me feel like an idiot for wildly overestimating what the show was doing with the material.

*looks at the X Files forever*

Just to pick a few things out at random.

a) Bellarke were put in conflict, but there was no emotional pay-off, the framing was all over the place and the resolution basically a post-script.

b) We spent the series agonising about the wisdom of going to war on a fragile planet, but the actual harbinger of Apocalypse 3.0 (I can’t believe I have to write that) was someone only tangentially related to that storyline, whom every single named character bar Kabby was trying to stop. So was everyone wrong? Or just ineffectual? The latter is far less interesting and more depressing tbh.

c) The worms

d) Memori

e) I could go on

I repeat, I would not be so pernickety if the run up to the s5 finale hadn’t been so good, and the set up so promising. The idea of a reboot was genius. The Bellarke separation was genius. Blodreina = genius. Mama Bear Clarke = genius. Eligius = genius. Spacekru = genius.

But ultimately? Can ANYONE tell me what s5 meant? What difference did any of those things make in the end? What conflict was resolved satisfactorily? I’d argue that the Blodreina/Blake siblings arc worked the best (although *howl* Bellamy was never given any in-universe context for Blodreina) but generally I’m left with the feeling that very few of these stories or conflicts had any meaning whatsoever, and especially not Bellarke.

So I have a theory and I stand to be corrected as ever because I am very much processing.

I think there’s a strong possibility Jason and/or the 100 writers room began rewriting the back end of season 5 as they were filming the early season 5 material.

Given Jason’s comments immediately after the finale, I’m inclined to believe that the rewrites, if I’m right, were mostly around Bellarke and the Flame. Specifically, I think that at some point when they were filming mid-season, Jason changed his mind about how Bellarke-y he wanted the season to be, if at all. And on top of that, I think as he was pitching season 6 around that time, he realised that he wanted to go full-hog with the Flame in season 6.

Those two things might be connected. Perhaps Jason realised the full extent to which he coud “bring Lexa back” without actually bringing back ADC, around the Flame. Perhaps he wants to recreate the show’s Clexa glory days. And perhaps romantic Bellarke isn’t compatible with that vision. Dumb, in my view, but hey.

Perhaps, he just realised that he can’t doesn’t want to write romantic Bellarke.

If that’s the case, then well, *shrugs*. Less satisfying for me, but I don’t own this shit. I do, however, own the prerogative to speculate wildly on how and why they squandered all that promise in the last couple of eps.

Certainly, a mid-season back end emergency rewrite would explain a few things:

1.The loose threads and wonky framing

For example, Clarke’s fury at Bellamy for putting the Flame into Madi’s head was just...dropped? Why? When it was SUCH A BIG DEAL in 509? What were we supposed to the think about that? What was she? And Bellamy, who didn’t appear to even remember who Clarke was until he saw her at the ship, being angry at her? Really? Where? Since when? And importantly - why?

I’m a writer and it’s my experience that the best planning you do for a piece is when you approach it at the start. You brainstorm. You get your thoughts together. You address each problem and question and mould it into a whole so it all makes sense.

But when you finish the thing and you look at it and you think - the thesis is wrong! I need to restructure the entire thing! That’s when mistakes get made. Especially if, for example, you’re up against a deadline or in this case a filming schedule, the threads that you would usually pick up at the planning stage or in the editing stage get missed. And because they are part of the final editing process, there’s nobody around to pick them up and properly address them.

Result? Fudge.

2. The curious ambivalence about Becho.

Look I ADORE Becho. They are soft, and loving and real af. I fully believe that was always intended to be the case.

I think Becho was set up as a benchmark, for Bellamy in particular, a symbol of his peace and prosperity in space,. And, of course, I think it was also set up as a point of conflict for Octavia and Clarke. In the case of the latter, it was definitely a silent love triangle. How do you explain the love triangle framing on two separate occasions? How else do you explain the two separate interviews Jason gave about love triangles?

But here’s what Becho was not set up as: a relationship that was supposed to develop on-screen and take the audience with it. Becho had no arc this season. It wasn’t “a story” per se, however much Tasya and Bob’s chemistry electrified me. It was the backbone to *other* stories.

So, why, then, were Becho given every single Bellarke beat, especially towards the end? A background of forgiveness? Check. A steadying influence on each other. Check. The person they’re fighting for? Check. Plotting together? Check? Battle couple? Check.

Contrast with Bellarke. Forgiveness? That’s something for Bellamy and Madi to discuss without Clarke! Battle plans? Clarke will do that with Echo instead (oh my GODDD my ot3 came to life there *clutches hands and wishes upon a star*). A steadying influence on each other? Maybe! Until they forget each other’s names when they’re not in a scene together! People they’re fighting for? Definitely not each other.

Meanwhile bts, the messages were VERY confusing. So the show was giving us a Becho that, while very real, was not the core of the story. Which was probably why, in early season 5, some deep Becho nods (the extra forehead touch, the “I love her”) found their way on to the editing room floor. All legit. But then, the script-to-screens then BROUGHT THOSE THINGS BACK to the viewer’s attention? Why? Why give us those things even though they were cut? Was it because maybe, the show had changed direction after the fact?

And don’t get me wrong. I loved every second of the show’s affirmation of Becho. I still adore them. But how does it fit into the jigsaw of the show as it stands? It doesn’t really. In fact, if you just swap Echo for Clarke in Bellamy’s storyline this season, you would have a hard time telling me that this isn’t exactly what romantic Bellarke would look like - the only difference is that in terms of screentime, Becho’s antagonism has had far more time, and Bellarke’s forgiveness/working together has had more time. IN-UNIVERSE, IT’S THE OTHER WAY AROUND. It’s why shipping Becho comes so easily for me. And if the show wanted to frame that as Clarke’s personal tragedy, I would get it and probably relish it. But the trouble is, I’m having a hard time understanding what the show *is* saying about Becho and Bellarke, because it seems to be constantly changing its mind.

WHICH. BY THE WAY. MADE THAT ENTIRE WAKE-UP MARPER VLOG SEQUENCE A MASSIVE DAMP BELLARKE SQUIB.

SORRY.

3. The Flame suddenly jumping to prominence as a tool rather than as a symbol late in the season.

The show went from framing the Flame as a threat to this kid, who had hidden from it her whole life, for whom it meant literal nightmares of people burning at the stake, something for Clarke to rightly protect her from, to something that turned her into a mouthpiece for Lexa, to Clarke’s hostility to it being framed as “wrong”. There was an abrupt change of tone imo, to Clarke’s fears being justified to Clarke’s fears making her, and I quote Jason from an interview that nearly made me choke on my cereal, a “helicopter” mum.

Excuse me while I punch the nearest object to smithereens.

The Flame “gave” Madi battle ideas (which were different from Octavia’s how, exactly?) by Gaia’s bedside, with just a MANTRA? That whole scene felt cobbled together at the last minute. Like a film student’s badly edited homework.

It’s giving Clarke life lessons, ffs!

*clenches fist*

The whole thing feels like a season 5 retcon, hastily put together to justify Madi still having the thing in her head for season 6, when it can do it’s victory lap for real.

4. The scenes that were dropped

a) Bob and Eliza both referenced a big Bellarke scene that got cut. My guess? Not a romantic scene but some kind of Hakeldama that allowed them to hash out their various beefs with each other and probably involved some shit talking about the Flame.

b) And like, if that scene had some tenderness in it? Too Bellarke maybe? No, Bellarke BAD BAD BAD *stern looks*

c) also, wasn’t Echo supposed to have a sad scene of sitting in the snow and remembering Azgeda? That was supposed to be at the snowy back end of the season, but Echo had no sads really. Only fierce spacekru love and some cuddles and some good sexy time. Was there an Echo sad that got cut? What was it related to?

5. The writers room walkout

Yeah. I don’t know what that means, but it sure means something.

Just fyi...for some context. I love Becho and they currently own my heart but until recently Bellarke was very much my otp. Probably, deep down, it still is.

But I’m getting tired of running this race. I have no problem with the show doing a slow burn. I have no problem with platonic Bellarke. But I need consistency and, importantly, I need the show to remember that Bellarke are the backbone of this show. Their relationship - however you frame it - is the heart and without it the show is nothing but a collection of Elon Musk conspiracy theories on reddit.

JUST LETTING THEM HAVE A CONVERSATION =/= BELLARKE ROMANCE.

If you want them platonic, fine, you win. But gutting their relationship from the inside out to try to ward off the sniff of shipping is just counterproductive. It’s the lack of real, meaningful connection that really turned me off Bellarke this season, not the lack of kiss or lack of romantic framing. Early in the season? Yes, the set up was all there and it looked GREAT. But their conflict never got off the ground and we never got a cathartic resolution to show us the characters really, truly mean something to each other.

Ultimately the show forgot that they were friends who love each other, and I just *clenches fist* can’t ship that. Maybe that’s what the show wanted. But the flipside is that at this point I’m not really invested in their relationship in any context, which is why the end shot left me cold. I hope Bellarke hasn’t died in my heart forever but...idk it doesn’t look good.

#bellarke #rip my beautiful earth babies #you'll have a special place for me forever #but i can't run this obstable course anymore #bellamy blake #clarke griffin #tagging becho #too #also don't send me hate #i'll block you

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themagiciansreccenter · 6 years

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Five @ Five @adjovi

As a part of our author spotlight, we’ve asked each writer to highlight 5 fics and tell us a little about their experience writing (or reading) them.

1. Goodnight Moon

He felt a jolt go through him, with the intensity of a lightning strike. He jerked back, but the man held fast. He felt like his brain was splitting along the hemisphere. Everything was so fucking loud that it hurt. His legs felt weak, and he walked backwards, his knees hitting the coffee table and folding immediately into sitting. He was amazed the shitty particle board held his weight. All of it came crashing back at once, and he couldn’t stand the intensity. He began to weep involuntarily, rocked by the memories. ALL of it. His whole entire life. Growing up. His parents. Fillory. Julia. Brakebills. Magic was fucking real. Alice. Margo. Fuck. “Eliot.” His voice sounded like someone else’s, thick and slurred. He looked the monster full in the face. “What have you done with him?”

It smiled at him. The monster riding around in the Eliot meat suit. The eyes. That was what was so wrong. Fucking alien eyes. It smiled. “There you are.” Its voice was warm and full of affection. Quentin felt like he might vomit.

This was my putting my toe into a new fandom fic. Which—my last fandom was when Torchwood went off the air, so that was a long time ago. TBH, I really wasn’t even more than a casual viewer of the show up until S3, and then was like holy fuck. I didn’t even ship Q/El until this season, just knew that I wasn’t a fan of Q/Alice (sorry!), kind of agreeing with niffinAlice’s summation that their relationship had been a garbage fire. So, when the finale was coming to an end, I was like…holy shit! They are going to lean into Q/El! This never happens on shows that I love. Following swiftly with holy shit. Then, I got excited. Because I realized that it was going to be a slow and painful ride to get Eliot back. Also, Hale is going to kill it in this role, and Eliot is such a great choice because he is, IMHO, the emotional center of the show. Plus, if the monster gets all of Eliot’s memories, he’s going to have shitloads to pull from to torment Quentin with, and I am for it. Hence, this little fic was born. I wasn’t sure if I would stick around in the fandom, but I enjoyed writing this so much, that the fic ideas just started to flow.

2. The Long Way Around

“It matters because when you think I am not looking, you stare at me like I hung the fucking moon. The rest of the time, you avoid me because it seems like being around me causes you actual physical pain.” He took a deep drag from his cigarette, exhaling in a long plume. “And you say my name like it's a goddamn prayer.” He stared at Quentin, willing him to turn and face him, but Quentin continued his fastidious study of the ground. “So, the way I see it, we are either together in your timeline. Or, I am dead.” Quentin did look at him then, his eyes impossibly wide.

So, this was definitely a fic that was built around a bit of dialogue—the one above—that I wanted to center the fic around. Also, I am a sucker for stories where one character remembers and no one else does. I wanted it to be painful, and to force Q to be honest. The ending came to me when I was in the shower—I wanted something to anchor things to, and make it interesting. I tried writing this for Welter’s timeloops theme, but missed the deadline, but still liked the story enough to write and post it. Prompts are definitely my friend.

3. Situation Normal

“Oh, my God.” Eliot took a step back instinctually. They had been so wrong. About everything. He was wrestling with both shock and awe over the utter the depths of their stupidity. They had been told, over and over, that this Thing was feared by the Gods. The monster was ancient, and he realized dimly that they must look like mayflies by comparison. Their sheer arrogance that they could control It, they could win, was ultimately to be their downfall. He should have been used to losing by now, as apparently they were Wyle E. Coyote and the Universe was the fucking Roadrunner, and somehow they never, ever managed to see the anvil coming.

So, in my old Torchwood fandom, there was a challenge that was based on adapting the show around a movie—this could be a straight swap the characters out, or more subtle retelling of the show through the frame of a movie. My favorites were of the latter variety, and one of my very favorite fics to read coming out of that entire fandom was a Jaws/Torchwood crossover which never should have worked but was pretty much perfect. So, I wanted to try this myself. This was tough to plot out—didn’t want to reveal my hand too early on and keep people guessing. I literally sat in team meetings blocking out scenes and conversations in code. I was really happy with how this one came out, and want to try again with another movie. Please don’t tell my boss about that team meetings part.

4. The Zeppo

She wasn’t convinced. This meant something to him, she could tell. Nothing meant anything to him. He had been crushing hard on that geek since the moment he saw him, marking him as his target early and often. She actually couldn’t tell what Q had thought of that, he just seemed equally mortified pretty much anytime anyone aimed their attentions towards him. If she had been a betting woman, she would have put good money on Alice Quinn. That would have been delightfully awkward to observe and satisfying to tease. This? What was she supposed to do with this? It was absurd, she knew. But she hated not being in the know, even the tiniest bit, most especially when it came to Eliot, with whom she covetously and with great intent been entwined.

This was my first Margo POV, and I freaking loved it. She is so awesome, but there is something kind of mean girl from S1 but also super vulnerable when it comes to Eliot that I wanted to capture here. I also really loved writing about badass Margo who not only makes her own fun but kind of almost saves the day, with the help of the ladies. I really want to expand out the ladies winning everything in another fic, and also write more about Penny/Julia/Kady, which I never would have considered shipping before, so thank you S3 for my ot3.

5. Infinite Probabilities Ratios

Word of the Beast’s attack had spread quickly across campus, like the viral infection that it was. Eliot was completely shook. He made a hasty retreat to his room, unable to be around the others just now. He couldn’t look at their faces after seeing them all die, one by one, in horrific, albeit creatively different ways. He hadn’t realized there were so many means of eviscerating a person. He was currently staring at the Broadway poster of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” on his wall, absolutely certain it was supposed to be the original book cover of “The Naked Lunch”. He had grabbed a bottle of whiskey and two glasses on his way up, not at all surprised when Quentin knocked on his door a short while later.

OK. So, I am actually in the process of writing a fiction book right now, which is all kinds of crazy. But, I wanted to try out the premise of that story—which is that the main protagonist has the ability to shift the world slightly away from the center, forcing the other characters to be in this sideways world. The changes are very subtle, but because the protagonist is the one who essentially builds this other world, there are things that are wrong. I wanted to do that here, with the shift being done by the monster, who guesses what their world should look like, missing out on the subtleties—for example, whiskey tasting like Kool-aid, or assuming Eliot would have a Broadway poster versus a one of a semi-obscure book about drug addled wanderings. Stuff like that.

#author spotlight #author spotlight: adjovi #five @ five #the magicians rec center

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mthofferings2020 · 4 years

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Lore

Preferred contact methods: Email: [email protected] Discord: Lore#8167

Preferred organizations: - Anything from the list of approved organizations

Will create works that contain: Tropes: friendship/platonic, pre-slash, established relationship, slow burn, genderswap, identity porn/secret identities of all kinds, found family, fake relationship, relationship of convenience, hurt/comfort, role reversals, worldbuilding, teamwork, comedic misunderstandings, non-sexual intimacy, competency, touch starvation, clothes sharing, slow burn, relationship where the other is secretly a pseudo-villain, enemies/friends to lovers, morally grey or liminal characters, self-rescues, outsider POV. Others, too :) Settings: canon compliant, post-canon and pre-canon speculation, what-if/canon divergent, explorations of missing scenes, canon-adjacent, multiverse, crossovers/fusions, AUs (Spies/secret agent/detective, magic, sci-fi, steampunk, pirates, space, etc)

Will not create works that contain: reader-insert, noncon, kink, A/B/O, ageplay, infidelity, pregnancy, mpreg, underage sex, mentor/mentee romantic relationship, villain/hero romantic relationships such as Thanos/Tony or Brock/Bucky, incest, sex-swap, disrespectful treatment/permanent disempowerment of marginalised characters, character bashing/demonising (critical is fine, though!), glorified *isms, high school AU, modern no-powers AU, Endgame. While I don’t mind sex being part of your fic (I can read around it), I don’t feel that I can offer any advice on writing it.

-- Beta Service --

Auction ID: 1282

Will create works for the following relationships: Clint Barton & Kate Bishop - 616 Pepper Potts/Natasha Romanov - Any Universe Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark - MCU, 616, Noir, 1872 James "Rhodey" Rhodes/Any - Any Universe Natasha Romanov/Tony Stark - MCU Tony Stark/Victor von Doom - 616 Tony Stark/Any - MCU, 616, Bullet Points, Noir, Ultimate Comics, 1872, 3940, Kamala Khan any gen - Any Universe Avengers fandom any gen – 616, MCU Captain Marvel fandom any gen - MCU

Work Description: I am offering to beta read up to 40K words. This can be for a single fic or multiple short ones - if you have a fic that's over 40K that you'd like me to beta read, please get in touch! Depending on the canon and character(s), I can check SPaG/copyediting, dialogue, internal continuity, sentence flow, canon-compliance and characterisation, as well as leave cheer-reading comments and feedback. I am very happy to beta the platonic version of any romantic grouping that I've listed, and am also open to betaing for ships not listed, including poly ships. If there’s a different fandom/ship you’re interested in, please don't hesitate to contact me! I'm familiar with MCU, Agent Carter, Jessica Jones, Season 1 of Luke Cage and the Defenders. I’ve read bits of Marvel comics over the years including Avengers, Ms Marvel, Captain Marvel, Daredevil, Spidergwen, GotG and Spider-Man. My turnaround time would depend on the length of the fic I’ve been asked to beta and other commitments. Please note that I will be slower than usual until February 2021. I do have a Black Lives Matter auction beta to do when my winner finishes the fic, and that will take precedence. If you'd like me to beta something with a specific deadline, please don't hesitate to let me know. On the other hand, you can also bid on this auction for fic(s) that you haven’t written yet and keep me in reserve!

Ratings: Gen, Teen, Mature

CLICK HERE TO BID ON THIS WORK

The auction runs from October 18 (12 AM ET) to October 24 (11:59:59 PM ET). Visit marveltrumpshate.com during Auction Week to view all of our auctions and to place your bids!

#Lore #auction: beta #mth 2020

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junker-town · 4 years

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Has Cam Newton played his last game for the Panthers?

Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images

Newton went on injured reserve and has no guaranteed money remaining on his contract.

Cam Newton won’t be returning to the Panthers’ lineup anytime soon, if ever. Carolina put its starting quarterback on injured reserve in advance of a Week 10 showdown with the Packers, ending his 2019 regular season after only two games due to a foot injury.

That decision puts a middling franchise at a crossroad. Newton, the 2015 NFL MVP, has only one year and no guaranteed money remaining on his contract. His replacement, former undrafted free agent Kyle Allen, won his first four games as a starter in his stead. Allen has since hit a rough patch and has the Panthers on a four-game skid. Now coach Ron Rivera has been fired and any hopes for the postseason are shot.

All that turmoil makes moving on from Newton via trade an interesting possibility. It would likely bring some draft assets back in return while saving the team more than $19 million in salary cap space in 2020.

A Newton trade or release seemed unheard of four years ago when the dual-threat passer rallied his team to a 15-1 regular season record and a victory in the NFC Championship. His Panthers have stagnated since then; he’s an even 23-23 as a starter in the three-plus years since.

In that span, they’ve missed the postseason twice — a third miss is on the way — and gotten a new owner who may be looking to make a splash. David Tepper bought the franchise from a scandal-embroiled Jerry Richardson after a wildly successful finance career based predicated on bold moves. He already moved on from Rivera and could make another such deal by swapping out his starting QB.

So what are the odds Carolina moves on from its all-time passing leader?

Christian D’Andrea: 50 percent (was 20 percent before Rivera’s firing)

There’s some logic to moving on from a former MVP who is only 30 years old. Newton’s breakthrough 2015 looks more like an oasis in a desert of mediocrity the further it gets in the rear view mirror. In the 3.5 years since, he’s completed less than 60 percent of his passes, thrown 44 interceptions in 46 starts, and averaged only 6.9 yards per attempt. Of the 42 quarterbacks who’ve thrown at least 500 passes in that span, Newton’s 82.6 passer rating ranks 33rd — just beneath Joe Flacco and Josh McCown but just ahead of Ryan Fitzpatrick and Blake Bortles.

These are all numbers that likely make a man with an analytical background like Tepper’s very uneasy. With Rivera gone, there’s reason to believe firing a head coach but not cleaning house would be a half measure where a full one is needed. There’s a not-insignificant chance Newton wears a color other than teal for the first time in his NFL career come 2020.

That might be a rash decision whose risks outweigh its potential rewards. Newton’s top gear puts him on a completely different plane than those guys. While it may be panning for fool’s gold to hope he’ll ever be the same player he was — especially as nagging injuries have conspired to sap a little bit more of his strength every year — he still brings plenty to the table.

Newton’s 2020 cap number is a relatively affordable $21.1 million. Combine that with the paltry six-figure/low seven-figure number Allen will receive as an exclusive rights restricted free agent, and you’ve got a QB rotation that would likely cost the Panthers less than the Jaguars will pay Nick Foles next fall.

That’s a fair price to keep a reliable QB tandem in town, and few teams understand the value of a useable backup more than the Panthers right now. If Newton doesn’t work out, he can leave in free agency the following year without Carolina owing him anything. If he does — and the team still believes in Allen as its future — the club could still move him before the trade deadline to a needy team with postseason aspirations and a shaky passing offense.

There isn’t much incentive to release Newton. Trading him while his value may never have been lower isn’t likely to bring the kind of return for which the Panthers would hope. If some team — i.e. the Bears — bowls Carolina over with an offer, Newton could be gone. Otherwise there’s little risk involved with keeping Newton around and seeing what he can do after a full year of rehab.

James Dator: 45 percent

Never, ever underestimate the possibility of the Panthers doing something monumentally stupid — and make no mistake, moving on from Newton would be colossally idiotic. Newton is the first and only true, franchise quarterback the team has ever had, and it took them almost 20 years to draft him.

That said, there are salary cap and coaching issues at play too. Now that the Panthers decided to part ways with Rivera (and likely general manager Marty Hurney by extension), there is a plausible scenario where a new leadership team wants “their guy” to be the quarterback moving forward. Newton will eat up a sizable chunk of the team’s cap space next season, and it might seem prudent on paper to free up that money and get some draft picks in exchange.

Should this happen then the Panthers deserve the next decade of mediocrity. The team’s defense and Christian McCaffrey are good enough that they won’t see a top-five pick anytime soon, so they’ll limp along to a series of 6-10 and 7-9 seasons with Kyle Allen or whomever at the helm until someone finally gets fed up and lets the team tank.

On a personal level, moving on from Newton is just gross. The front office retained their jobs on his back for the last eight years, floundering to give their franchise QB decent receivers or an offensive line of note. He still went on to take them to a Super Bowl and become the best passer in team history despite every card in the beck being stacked against him. Newton never threw the organization under the bus, even when they deserved it. Turnabout is fair play and they deserve to stick with him now.

But football is a cruel, harsh business sometimes run by total idiots who can’t see the forest for the trees — so a scenario absolutely exists where he’s gone by the draft. If Newton is traded to another team they deserve to kick the crap out of Carolina every year until Newton eventually retires.

What does this mean for the Panthers going forward?

D’Andrea: Two questions for you, James.

What do you think Tepper’s presence means to the franchise and how much he’s ready to take the wheel after leaving things relatively stable in his first year as owner?

What you think the Panthers would do with the extra cash/assets the team would glean from moving on from Newton?

Dator: Tepper was resolutely behind Newton when he took over as owner, largely taking the approach that he would support whatever his football staff believed was the right. It’s still early to put a pin on what Tepper really believes in as owner, however. This is still the honeymoon phase, and there’s no doubt he’s monitoring how fans are reacting to Newton being hurt.

In terms of what the team would do with potential assets — that really depends on who the GM is. There’s a scenario where I can envision them finally building from the inside out and shoring up their offensive line before trying to find a quarterback, but fans are also growing weary of mediocrity. If the Panthers decide to part ways with Newton they better have an answer, and fast.

Remember when the Chargers let Drew Brees go to New Orleans? That didn’t sting very much because Philip Rivers is excellent. If that same scenario plays out and the Panthers don’t have a Rivers-like QB to insert then there are no depths of how upset fans will be. The big problem: The team is winning right now.

Some questions for you, since you don’t have a vested interest as a fan.

Is there a scenario you see where the Panthers can compete in the next five years without Newton?

Looking ahead to the draft: Is there any way the Panthers could conceivably find another franchise QB quickly?

D’Andrea: I think the Panthers could be a couple of impact defensive players away from being able to succeed with a caretaker QB. Hell, they hit the midway point of the season 5-3 with Allen playing roughly as well as late-stage Andy Dalton. McCaffrey’s cheat code abilities out of the backfield should boost any quarterback, and adding another few difference makers to the core of Luke Kuechly, Brian Burns, Donte Jackson, Kawann Short, and a potentially re-signed Mario Addison could mire opponents long enough for an average QB to squeak out a series of wins. The last two guys on that list are starting to get old, though — so Carolina would have to make that move soon.

Finding another franchise quarterback, especially without a top-10 pick, will be tough but not impossible. In recent years we’ve seen players like Lamar Jackson, Dak Prescott, Teddy Bridgewater, Jacoby Brissett, Derek Carr, Jimmy Garoppolo, Russell Wilson, and Nick Foles fall to the back end of the first round or deeper. The Panthers could also take a chance on a rehabilitation project on the free agent market like Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota, if they want to swing hard in 2020. Neither path is ideal. I like the draft idea far more than trying to break a middling QB’s bad habits, especially when you consider the contract costs involved, but Carolina has options.

The Panthers started 5-1 without Newton in the lineup in 2019 and jumped into the thick of the NFC playoff race behind Allen, stout defense, and McCaffrey’s MVP-like performance. That fell apart, though. Now the team is a rudderless, sinking ship that’ll be eliminated from playoff contention soon.

Rivera’s team could wind up stuck in the league’s middle class as 2019 winds to a close; not good enough for the postseason but not ready to rebuild either. That’ll push some serious questions about this team’s future to the forefront of its offseason planning. All things considered, it makes sense for Newton to play out his contract in Charlotte — but asking the Panthers to make the logical choice isn’t always a safe bet.

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agentverbivore · 7 years

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Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers (◠‿◠✿)

aw cheers, thank you for thinking of me! could you link me yours, too? I’d love to read it! :-)

organized loosely in order… -ish. bc choosing things is hard.

the Crime AU series - Wait Out the Sun / Hideaway in Daylight [E]still probably my proudest achievement, in terms of structure, style, and emotional tension. plus, 2+ years later, the show keeps making my characterization choices canon, which is both vindicating and amuses me to no end. (I’m on tenterhooks to see if there are any Framework similarities especially, haha.)

Side By Side [M]the little daemon AU that could, lmao. another example of one of those fics that I promised myself I could get done in a reasonable word count that then, inevitably, got away from me. I just fell so much in love with this variation of FitzSimmons, as well as the conception of their daemons, that I couldn’t resist writing more and more and more about them. I could probably easily write in it for the rest of my life and be just as enamored of them, I think.

Bright (Stardust AU) [E]although far from being one of my more popular fics, this will always be one of my favorites. the story and the gender-swap all fits FitzSimmons so, so well, imho, and it just makes me inordinately happy. p much everything abt it soothes my soul. and as much as I’m terrified of/dislike writing in multiple POVs, it didn’t end up being quite as much of a confusing disaster as I’d feared. plus, I got to turn Jemma into a monkey, and “bisexual lightning pirate Skye” is still everything I want for her in canon.

The Routine [T]I also just really like the structure and the premise of this one - it’s so simple, but I felt like it gelled really nicely when writing. also one of those fics where Jemma’s voice was just so, so clear in my head - moments like that are always a special kind of writerly joy.

Turn and Speak, Memory [M]I feel like this last spot could go to a bunch of fics, but I’m going with this one atm for a couple reasons. 1) I don’t typically write something with so much unrelenting angst, so it was a step outside of my own comfort zone. I was worried about writing the “dead dog” fic, as it were, but I hope I avoided it as much as possible. it was an interesting challenge (that, along with my self imposed writing deadline, before 4b aired). 2) I’m proud of the structure, again. I think it worked really well to help ameliorate my concerns above, and it allowed me the chance to basically write a whole bunch of lil one-shot, still canon-compliant fluff scenes. (like, if you ignore all the angsty & plot stuff, it’s basically a collection of fluffy FitzSimmons missing moments from season 4a, lol.) oh, and I cry every time I think about Jemma’s scenes with May in this, so there’s that, too.

#bookishandbossy #ask #FitzSimmons #thefitzsimmonsnetwork #fsfic #FitzSimmons fic #aos fic #Verbivore writes #Agents of SHIELD #fanfiction #Crime AU #Big Bang AU #Academy AU #Turn Left AU #fstag

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thrashermaxey · 5 years

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Ramblings: More Trades, Goalie Shutouts, Pens’ D Problems (Feb 24)

With the trade deadline fast approaching, I'm hoping there might be a pearl of wisdom or two in what I’m going to write here. Because of the fluid situations on many teams, there are also observations that could be outdated by tomorrow. All we can do now is get into where things stand now and see what happens next.

To put it another way, it should be a crazy 36 hours coming up. You know we’ll be updating things constantly here with our fantasy takes and our Trade Tracker.

In one of the early games, Sam Reinhart recorded a hat trick in the Sabres’ 5-2 win over Washington. Reinhart has been heating up lately with six points in his last five games. There shouldn’t be much concern that Reinhart is not playing on Jack Eichel’s line at the moment. Reinhart’s 55 points in 61 games already represents a career high, so he’s followed the “fourth year breakout” theory to a tee.

Jeff Skinner appeared to dodge a bullet, as he returned to the game in the third period after getting his leg twisted with Carl Hagelin’s stick in the second period. There was obvious concern that the Sabres would be losing Skinner and his 36 goals for an extended period, but this injury appeared a lot worse than it turned out to be.

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Dobber checked in with the Fantasy Take of the Stars acquiring Mats Zuccarello, which includes a comprehensive list of players potentially helped or hurt by the trade.

Bubble wrapping their assets in the event of a potential trade, the Rangers held out all of Zuccarello, Kevin Hayes, and Adam McQuaid on Saturday. Yet they still managed to defeat the Devils, who were holding out Marcus Johansson for the same reason. I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed a season where so many teams have decided to scratch players who are on the trade block. If these teams are out of the playoff race, then there’s no incentive for them not to do this. In fact, I’m surprised that teams haven’t done this sooner. The loser of course is the paying fan, who potentially misses a player or two that they were hoping to see.

The Zuccarello/Hayes scratches meant that Ryan Strome picked up 19 minutes of icetime. He took advantage of the situation, scoring twice. This will be a year or two too late for fantasy owners who were saving Strome in their keeper pools, but Strome has been scoring at a point-per-game pace over his last seven games. Maybe, just maybe, Strome is someone who benefits from Zuccarello leaving and Hayes possibly leaving by Monday.

Back to Zucc: He is expected to be in the Stars’ lineup today (Sunday) against Chicago.

After the Wayne Simmonds hit (see below) on Brian Dumoulin which resulted in both Dumoulin and Kris Letang leaving the game (Letang injured in the ensuing melee), the Penguins’ best hope appeared to be that the outdoor game would be rained out.

Simmonds' hit on Dumoulin. pic.twitter.com/F2trugCpEM

— Broad Street Hockey (@BroadStHockey) February 24, 2019

Even without one of their defensive pairs, the Pens were able to take a 3-1 lead late into the third period before the Flyers scored twice to tie the game before the end of regulation. Then Claude Giroux scored the overtime winner to seal the Penguins’ fate in what had to be their most demoralizing defeat of the season. Dumoulin has a concussion and will miss time, while Letang was being evaluated for an upper-body injury and may miss time. Between the injuries on defense (Olli Maatta also sidelined) and the division rival Blue Jackets’ recent upgrades, the Pens are now in tough to make the playoffs. That’s something we haven’t heard in a while. You know that GM Jim Rutherford is on the phone looking for blueline help.

If Letang misses time, it goes without saying that Justin Schultz is a must-add. Schultz scored his first goal of the season to give him three points in the five games since his return. I’m crossing my fingers that Letang is back in two weeks when my fantasy playoffs begin. That’s what you live with when you own Letang, as I have for 8+ years. Maybe I’ll start a podcast called Keeping Letang, which will be like a group therapy session for owning injured players. The frustrating part is this injury happened during a scrum when he was tackled by Shayne Gostisbehere (on the same fantasy team, coincidentally) and could have easily been avoided. The silver lining is that I also have Schultz as insurance.

Jakub Voracek, who scored the game-tying goal with just 20 seconds in regulation, ended up with a three-point game. Voracek had been held without a point in his previous three games but had a nine-game point streak before that.

Speaking of the Blue Jackets, things are just peachy right now as they load up to try to win at least one playoff series. Matt Duchene scored his first Blue Jackets goal and added an assist, while Sergei Bobrovsky stopped all 26 shots he faced in a 4-0 win over San Jose. Bob now has shutouts in consecutive nights, so right now you’re getting the Bobrovsky that you thought you were drafting. He’s won seven of his last nine games and has pitched shutouts in three of his past six games. More importantly, he’s out of John Tortorella’s doghouse. At least for the moment.

Anyone else feeling smug as fuck as Bobrovsky posts B2B shutouts heading on a team loading up as we approach H2H fantasy playoffs? The legend of H2H playoff goalie Bob continues to grow.

— Stephen Laidlaw (@SteveLaidlaw) February 24, 2019

To expand on that, here are the post All-Star Game numbers for Bobrovsky:

2017-18: 15-7-3, 2.36 GAA, .921 SV%

2016-17: 13-8-3, 1.99 GAA, .936 SV%

2015-16: 4-6-0, 3.00 GAA, .899 SV%

2014-15: 14-2-1, 2.39 GAA, .927 SV%

2013-14: 12-6-2, 2.13 GAA, .932 SV%

If you’re drafting Bob, it’s for this time of year. Aside from the 2015-16 blemish, he’s been lights out when you’ve needed him the most.

I wrote a few paragraphs about the Dzingel trade and how the Blue Jackets and Senators are affected. You can check them out here. The two teams are essentially swapping left wingers, so I’ll summarize my piece by saying that one could theoretically replace the other on their new teams.

By the way, bad news for Erik Karlsson owners. Karlsson didn’t play in the third period and may have “retweaked his groin,” an injury that forced him to miss nine games this earlier this month and last month.

It was a good day for shutouts if you needed one. Aside from Bobrovsky, here are three more.

Curtis McElhinney stopped all 24 shots he faced in a 3-0 win over the Stars. Curtis Mac is timesharing with Petr Mrazek, but that hasn’t stopped him from posting wins in 9 of his last 11 games. During that stretch (since New Year’s Eve), McElhinney has a 2.18 GAA and .925 SV%. Mrazek has pitched shutouts in two of his last four starts, but I’d still give lifetime backup McElhinney the upper hand in this goaltending battle if Rod Brind’Amour had to pick a starter for Game 1 of the playoffs.

Philipp Grubauer made 38 saves to earn his first shutout as a member of the Avalanche. The Avs are invested in Grubauer beyond this season, but I’m wondering if there’s at least an outside chance that they bring Semyon Varlamov back next season. Varlamov has had significant stretches of the kind of numbers that you don’t want near your fantasy team, but he has been playing better lately with four wins over his last five starts and six quality starts over his last seven games. So the shutout won’t necessarily result in more playing time for Grubauer.

The legend of both Robin Lehner’s personal turnaround and the Islanders’ team turnaround continues, as he stopped all 36 Canuck shots in a 4-0 shutout win. The Isles’ goaltending situation mirrors the Canes’, as both goalies from each team are worth owning while both teams sit in the league’s top 10 in goals against (the Islanders first overall in team GAA). Lehner and Greiss are owned in the majority of Yahoo leagues. Surprisingly, McElhinney and Mrazek are not (both owned in around 30% of Yahoo leagues).

The Canes/Stars game featured two significant “outjuries” (as the Keeping Karlsson podcast calls them).

Ben Bishop returned for the Stars, stopping 28 of 30 shots he faced in a 3-0 loss. Bishop is posting his best numbers (2.29 GAA, .924 SV%) since the 2015-16 season, when he was the starting goalie for the Lightning. Get him back into your lineup.

Jordan Staal was back in lineup after missing the past two months with a concussion. He recorded an assist in just under 14 minutes of icetime centering Micheal Ferland and Teuvo Teravainen. Injury returns can be just as effective as trade deadline upgrades, particularly if the team has been getting by without the player.

Some contract news that probably flew under the radar for many: According to Ren Lavoie, Frank Vatrano has signed a three-year extension with the Panthers that will pay him an average of $2.53 million per season. Now that he has received a regular NHL opportunity, Vatrano has scored a career-high 20 goals in just 59 games while seeing icetime with some of the Panthers’ big boys. At age 24, Vatrano has sleeper potential, and the new contract should solidify his spot on the Panthers.

With Connor McDavid serving the first game of his two-game suspension, Sam Gagner moved up to the Oilers’ first-unit power play. He scored his first goal (even strength) in his second stint with the Oilers, helping them to a 2-1 win over Anaheim. With no McDavid, there isn’t really much to the Oilers offense beyond Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, which wasn’t the case when the Oilers first drafted McDavid. Maybe that asset mismanagement will result in them adding one of Jack Hughes or Kaapo Kakko in the draft this summer. I bet Twitter would explode if the lottery balls bounced that way.

Corey Perry might get a call from the league for suckering Darnell Nurse here…

Things that make you go…. 🤔 -ND pic.twitter.com/4eWqkfQKVf

— Oilersnation.com (@OilersNation) February 24, 2019

Enjoy the trade deadline coverage, wherever you are watching!

For more fantasy hockey information, you can follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding.

from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-more-trades-goalie-shutouts-pens-d-problems-feb-24/

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thegloober · 6 years

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Who has been the most surprising player for each team to start the season?

Jaden Schwartz’s start to the 2017-18 season came out of virtually nowhere. True, he had kept in line with his career averages the season prior when he went out and potted 19 goals and 55 points in 2016-17, but his start last season was something else. Through the first nine games, he had scored six goals and 13 points and formed one formidable offensive unit with Brayden Schenn and Vladimir Tarasenko.

Schwartz’s fast start was indicative of the kind of season he would go on to have himself, too. Though injuries hampered his final totals — he missed 20 games, which has unfortunately been the story of his young career — Schwartz saw career-bests for production. His 24 goals and 59 points in 62 games made for the highest goals, assists and points per game rates since he broke into the league in 2012-13 as a full-timer with the Blues.

This season, though, Schwartz’s start is surprising for another reason. In six games for St. Louis, he has just two points, both assists, while the injury bug has reared its ugly head again with Schwartz missing two games due to a foot injury. Luckily, Schwartz’s early struggles has been overshadowed by a more positive start to the season by one of his Blues teammates, who you’ll find noted below in this rundown of the most surprising starter for each team this season:

Anaheim Ducks We’ve said it already, but Max Comtois has benefitted more than anyone from the injury woes in Anaheim. The rookie has had a few games with top-six minutes and he’s consistently finding the scoresheet through the first 10 games of the season. His seven points are tied for the Ducks’ team lead, and he’s going to make it awfully difficult for Anaheim to demote him if he keeps this up.

Arizona Coyotes Vinnie Hinostroza was one of the key pieces in the deal that sent the remaining seasons of Marian Hossa’s dead-money contract from the Blackhawks to the Coyotes, and he’s made the most of his opportunity in Arizona. He made Chicago regret their decision to move him with two goals in his return to the Windy City, but it’s his shot generation that has us taking note. His 21 shots are third behind only Derek Stepan and Christian Fischer among all skaters in Arizona. He’s producing and could be a minor breakout candidate if he keeps this up.

Boston Bruins Upon his signing in Boston, we noted that Jaroslav Halak could help push Tuukka Rask this season. Instead, the 33-year-old keeper looks like he’s could be a candidate to split starts with the Bruins’ long-time No. 1 netminder. He’s deserving of the time he’s getting, too, posting a .933 save percentage in five appearances thus far, which is significantly better than Rask’s .901 SP performance in five outings.

Buffalo Sabres Maybe surprise is the wrong word to use given he has a history of 30-goal seasons, but Jeff Skinner is certainly grabbing the bull by the horns in Buffalo. Brought in to fill the net, he’s done just that with five goals and seven points through nine games. He’s second only to Jack Eichel in scoring for the Sabres, and Skinner is either playing his way towards a healthy extension in Buffalo or a big-money pact come next summer.

Calgary Flames Elias Lindholm wasn’t the more notable of the two players acquired in the summer blockbuster between the Flames and Hurricanes, but he’s been a revelation in Calgary. Not only is Lindholm second in average ice time among all forwards, he’s leads the Flames with six goals and his nine points put him in third place behind Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau. Calgary certainly isn’t complaining.

Carolina Hurricanes Speaking of the swap between the Hurricanes and Flames, it doesn’t appear Micheal Ferland plans on slowing down any time soon. Though his ice time is lagging behind that of primary linemates Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen due to the difference in power play minutes, Ferland is filling the net unlike any other skater in Carolina. His six goals are tops on the team and his nine points put him second in team scoring. A consistent half-point per game scorer in Calgary, he looks like he could be the league’s best third wheel this season.

Chicago Blackhawks Alex DeBrincat appears to be every bit the offensive dynamo he was drafted to be, and his performance as part of Chicago’s top line has been outstanding. But that’s a matter of meeting potential for DeBrincat. The real surprise for the Blackhawks has been Henri Jokiharju. Though not fair to say he was shoehorned into the lineup, it’s safe to suggest few saw him fitting in as a top pairing defenseman quite this quickly. His five assists aside, Jokiharju has performed well alongside Duncan Keith and seems to have the confidence of the coaching staff.

Colorado Avalanche Last season, Alex Kerfoot got off to a red-hot start only to fall apart during the back half of the season. To wit, he scored eight goals and 13 points in his final 39 games after putting up 11 goals and 30 points in his first 40 outings. Kerfoot looks to have rediscovered that early-season scoring touch, though, with one goal and six points in nine games to start the campaign. The Avalanche need consistency in the middle of the lineup, and Kerfoot providing that would be a boon to the top-heavy attack.

Columbus Blue Jackets Seth Jones’ injury forced blueliners into bigger roles in Columbus, and none more so than Markus Nutivaara. His average ice time in the Blue Jackets’ first eight games is two and a half minutes higher than it was last season, and he’s met the challenge with some impressive offensive output. He has five assists through eight games, all at even strength, and he’s fired 17 shots on goal. A deep blueline looks like it has another piece with which to work.

Dallas Stars So, Miro Heiskanen was supposed to be NHL ready this season. That much we knew. No one knew exactly how NHL ready he was, though. At this point, it appears Heiskanen might be a candidate to fall into the Charlie McAvoy category by season’s end, which is to say the Stars defender will be one of the best rookies in the league but won’t get the credit he deserves given his offensive totals won’t match up against those of the freshman forwards. His 20:40 ice time average is third among defensemen in Dallas.

Detroit Red Wings The absence of Mike Green, whose return date remains up in the air, opened up opportunity in Detroit. No one has seized that opportunity quite like Dennis Cholowksi. The rookie rearguard has consistently skated the biggest minutes on the Red Wings blueline, with his 22:14 average leading the team and two games in which he’s skated nearly 25 minutes. Better yet, though, he’s contributing with two goals and five points in seven games. The 2016 first-round pick looks ready for the big stage.

Edmonton Oilers No one should be even the slightest bit surprised by Connor McDavid anymore. Darnell Nurse, though, has really risen to the occasion with Andrej Sekera sidelined. His average ice time is two minutes clear of last season’s career high and he’s been far and away the best thing going on the Oilers’ blueline. Of course, no Oiler has offensive numbers that are all that impressive given McDavid has accounted for most of the offense in Edmonton, but Nurse’s goal and three points are tops among Oilers blueliners.

Florida Panthers He’s by no means a rookie and he’s actually coming off of quite the campaign, but it’s hard not to take note of Evgenii Dadonov’s continued success. With three goals and eight points in seven games, Dadonov is tied for the Panthers’ team scoring lead and he’s been every bit the top-line player he was last season. In fact, the only forwards with more ice time than Dadonov are Vincent Trocheck and Aleksander Barkov, which indicates just how hard coach Bob Boughner is willing to lean on Dadonov.

Los Angeles Kings There’s not a lot to write home about when a team has dropped five in a row by a combined score of 25-7. Alex Iafallo has been one of the lone bright spots in Los Angeles, though. With two goals and seven points in nine games, Iafallo is already well on his way to smashing his rookie season production of eight goals and 25 points, and he is getting to see more ice time for the Kings. His average is up nearly a minute per outing, which includes additional power play time.

Minnesota Wild Frankly, there were times during the final three months of the 2017-18 campaign where Devan Dubnyk looked pedestrian. Blame that on what you will, but he was nowhere near the Vezina Trophy candidate he had been twice in the three seasons prior. Dubnyk looks like he’s back in form this season, though, with an absolutely dazzling performance to start the season. His .944 SP through six games is proof that he can still be a game stealer for Minnesota, and he might be the best thing going for the Wild through the early season.

Montreal Canadiens Montreal’s early-season surprise honor can go to no one but Tomas Tatar. Traded twice in the past several months, first at the deadline to the Golden Knights and later to the Canadiens in the Max Pacioretty deal, Tatar has been excellent for the Habs and has seemingly bounced back from his disastrous time in Vegas. His three goals and eight points in eight games put him first in Canadiens’ scoring and he’s formed a nice trio with Philip Danault and Brendan Gallagher.

Nashville Predators An injury to Pekka Rinne has thrust Juuse Saros, the heir apparent to the Predators’ crease, into the spotlight. And boy, has he delivered. Heading into Tuesday night, Saros had won all four games he in which he had appeared, posted one shutout and had an outstanding .945 SP. He was beaten five times on 32 shots by the Sharks on Tuesday, but Saros’ early performance has only furthered his standing as the heir apparent in Nashville.

New Jersey Devils How can we not take a second to talk about Kyle Palmieri? The Devils winger has been a consistent goal scoring threat since his arrival in New Jersey, but he’s taken it up a notch through the early going this season. His seven goals in six games has set an unrealistic pace — he’s shooting 32 percent on 22 shots on goal and that won’t hold — but barring an extended slump or a spell on the injured list, Palmieri seems a lock to snap his career high of 30 goals.

New York Islanders Veteran Valtteri Filppula took a significant pay cut to head to the Islanders this summer, his cap hit dipping from $5 million last season to $2.75 million for the current campaign. He’s sure not performing like a player making half of what he did last season, though. Filppula’s four goals and six points put him first and second, respectively, in scoring for the Islanders despite the fact he’s played primarily bottom-six minutes.

New York Rangers Not all surprises are good surprises, which brings us to Vladislav Namestnikov. Remember last season, when Namestnikov had 35 points through his first 42 games in Tampa Bay? Well, after being shipped to the Rangers late last season and then getting a two-year, $8-million extension, he has paid New York back with one assist in eight games and he’s found himself in coach David Quinn’s doghouse. Namestnikov’s ice time average is less than 11 minutes, down about more than six minutes from his average over the course of the 2017-18 season.

Ottawa Senators The performance of the Senators as a whole has been remarkable, but Maxime Lajoie has been especially impressive. Given the influx of young talent and fresh faces, Lajoie was a relative unknown outside Ottawa to begin the season, but he’s maintained an average ice time up above 20 minutes per game and his seven points in eight games has put him on the radar. It should be said, too, that Lajoie is consistently finding his opportunities. His 23 shots are the most of any Senator.

Philadelphia Flyers We’ve long known what Jakub Voracek and Claude Giroux can do. Same goes for Wayne Simmonds. And while the performances of Travis Konecny, Scott Laughton and Shayne Gostisbehere have been likewise impressive, the only thing anyone can talk about lately when it comes to the Flyers is Gritty. Sure, technically he’s not a player, but when is the last time a mascot has captured the imagination of the sporting world quite like this? The average North American is probably more likely to recognize Gritty than they are Giroux.

Pittsburgh Penguins Is it fair to call Evgeni Malkin’s start surprising? It’s not as though Malkin scoring like one of the best players in the world is anything new, but it feels like his early season dominance has been lost in the shuffle. He has the best points per game rate of any player in the league and his three goals and 13 points have him three points off the league’s current scoring lead with two games in hand. This could be a big, big year for ‘Geno.’

San Jose Sharks Timo Meier was long considered one of the top prospects in the Sharks’ system and he had himself a fairly impressive campaign in 2017-18, scoring 21 goals and 36 points in a middle of the lineup role in San Jose. Meier looks primed to develop into a top-six contributor for the Sharks, though, and he’s turning heads in the early season with a five-goal, eight-point start through nine games this season. He’s tied for the team goal-scoring lead with Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski.

St. Louis Blues The Blues’ signing of David Perron to a four-year, $16-million pact seemed like an overreaction to his 66-point season in Vegas. Prior to the 2017-18 campaign, Perron had never cracked 60 points and had gone four seasons without hitting the 20-goal plateau. The veteran winger has fit in perfectly back in St. Louis, however, and his five goals and nine points already give him a healthy start on eclipsing 60 points for the second time in his career. Maybe he’ll even score 30 goals for the first time.

Tampa Bay Lightning If there was a Johnny Bower Award for long-tenured minor leaguers who break out in the NHL, it would have gone to Yanni Gourde last season. At 26, he was playing his first full campaign in the big league and blew everyone away with 25 goals and 64 points. He’s proving he was no flash in the pan, too, with four goals and eight points in seven games so far this season. He’s going to get paid, and paid well, on his next deal if he keeps this up.

Toronto Maple Leafs Morgan Rielly has proven throughout his young career that he’s no slouch offensively, but no one would have seen his outburst to start this season coming. After scoring a career high 52 points last season, Rielly is already more than one quarter of the way to a new career-best mark with four goals and 14 points in nine games. Offense is no concern for the Maple Leafs, and Rielly could put himself in the Norris Trophy conversation on his scoring alone if he continues to score as he has through the early season.

Vancouver Canucks Expectations were high for Elias Pettersson given his performance in the Swedish League last season, but no one would have guessed he would be miss-four-games-and-still-have-the-team-points-lead good. Before he was sidelined with a concussion, Pettersson had scored five goals and eight points in five games. He’s set to make his return soon, too, which makes every Canucks game worth watching. He could be on his way to setting Vancouver’s rookie scoring record.

Vegas Golden Knights The Golden Knights’ first line has been as good as ever, with Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Reilly Smith combining for 23 points in eight games, but there hasn’t been much else for offense in Vegas. In fact, the real surprise has been how ineffective Max Pacioretty has been. Expected by many to bounce back from a down year in Montreal last season, Pacioretty has one goal in eight games. He’s not even on pace to best last season’s disappointing 17-goal output.

Washington Capitals The Capitals committed big to John Carlson in the off-season, inking him to a monster eight-year, $64-million pact, and he’s repaying them early with gaudy numbers in the early season. In eight games, Carlson has ripped home five goals and 13 points. There’s no chance he maintains this pace, of course, but he looks like he could be on his way to matching and bettering last season’s career highs of 15 goals and 68 points.

Winnipeg Jets Through two seasons, Josh Morrissey has registered 46 points in 163 games. His career best was last season’s seven-goal, 26-point effort, which came when he averaged slightly more than 20 minutes per game. But an injury to Dustin Byfuglien vaulted Morrissey onto the top power play unit, where he’s produced some magic. His seven points in nine games put him on pace to smash last season’s offensive numbers, and Winnipeg might want to start thinking about what retaining Morrissey is going to cost when the two-year bridge deal he signed this summer comes up.

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About the Author

Jared Clinton

Jared Clinton is a writer and web editor with The Hockey News. He’s been with the team since 2014. He was born, raised and resides in Winnipeg, where he can be found missing the net on outdoor rinks all over town.

Source: https://bloghyped.com/who-has-been-the-most-surprising-player-for-each-team-to-start-the-season/

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currentbdnews · 6 years

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https://ift.tt/2iJKpFu baseball tradeshttps://ift.tt/eA8V8J Biggest baseball trades For update news visit All Bd Newspaper

Andrew McCutchen is shaving his beard for a possible World Series run. Ryan Madson is switching bullpens, trying to help another team win a title. And Josh Donaldson is hoping he’s healthy enough to contribute.

The Milwaukee Brewers? They were a busy bunch, swinging trades to get starter Gio Gonzalez, outfielder Curtis Granderson and reliever Xavier Cedeno.

Several contending teams swung into action Friday, making trades to bolster potential playoff rosters. A player must be on a club by Aug. 31 to be eligible for the post-season.

“I think what happens in September is that the whole calculus of this thing changes,” Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell said.

Counsell spoke after the Brewers acquired Cedeno, and before they beat Washington 4-1 at Nationals Park. After the win, Milwaukee said it had gotten Gonzalez from the Nats and Granderson from Toronto.

All three of the Milwaukee trades were for minor leaguers. So, too, were the swaps that sent Donaldson from Toronto to Cleveland, Madson from Washington to the Dodgers and McCutchen from San Francisco to the Yankees.

The Indians’ trade for Donaldson might’ve been the most intriguing of the day. Cleveland is running away with the AL Central, but it’s not certain how Donaldson, a third baseman who was the 2015 AL MVP, might be used.

Donaldson hasn’t played in the majors since May 28 because of a strained calf and only began a minor league rehab assignment this week. When he’s healthy, he’s fiery and fearsome.

“I’m going to miss him,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said shortly before the trade was announced. “We had our battles. He is a high-strung player, but he did a lot for us.”

Gonzalez simply shifted clubhouses and changed from a Nationals uniform into a Brewers sweatshirt and hat.

“I grew up here. I had my family here, my wife and my kids. It’s just sad but I’m happy,” Gonzalez said. “I’m really happy. I’m getting a second chance to redeem myself and I think this is a perfect opportunity with a team like the Brewers. I see there’s a hopefully a brighter future for me.”

The 32-year-old lefty is 7-11 with a 4.57 ERA in 27 starts this season.

“You’re surprised because you never know what’s going to happen. You hear all kinds of rumblings and things. There’s no reason to get worked up over anything until something happens,” said the 37-year-old Granderson, who had a pinch-hit single and scored in a 6-5 win at Miami.

The 37-year-old Granderson is batting .245 with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs in 104 games this season. He has reached the playoffs with four teams in his career — Detroit, the New York Yankees, the New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Clubs can start calling up reinforcements from the minors on Saturday. But it’s who they added before September that could really count in October.

McCutchen, one of several players to pass through waivers after the July 31 trade deadline, was sent from San Francisco to the New York Yankees for a pair of minor leaguers.

The 2013 NL MVP was hitting .255 with 15 home runs, 55 RBIs and 13 stolen bases for the Giants. McCutchen will take over in right field — that was slugger Aaron Judge’s spot in the Bronx, but he hasn’t swung a bat since a fastball broke his wrist five weeks ago.

The 31-year-old McCutchen was expected to be in the lineup Saturday at Yankee Stadium to face Detroit. Before he plays, though, he must adhere to the Yankees’ strict rule on facial hair, and that meant shaving the beard he’s sported for almost his whole career.

“Just gonna take me a sec to get used to my freshly shaved face,” he posted on Twitter.

The Dodgers, having seen closer Kenley Jansen wobble since coming off the disabled list, got Madson from the Nationals for a minor league pitcher.

Madson was 5-5 with five saves and a 4.08 ERA in 69 games for Washington. The 38-year-old recently came off the disabled list after being sidelined by nerve irritation that caused pain in his neck and back.

“Feels like a fresh start, especially to a year I’ve struggled a little bit,” Madson said as he was leaving Nationals Park. “Now none of that matters. All that matters is from this point forward and helping that team win games. That’s it.”

Madson helped Philadelphia win the World Series in 2008 and Kansas City do the same in 2015.

The Oakland Athletics, who finished last in the AL West the past three years, tried to improve their playoff chances by getting right-handed reliever Cory Gearrin from Texas Rangers for a pair of minor league pitchers.

Gearrin was a combined 2-1 with a 3.51 ERA and one save in 56 appearances for the Rangers and San Francisco.

“I know he’s excited about being here. I talked to him for a while today. He said, “I’ll do whatever you ask me to do,'” A’s manager Bob Melvin said.

In another deal, the Colorado Rockies got backup catcher Drew Butera from Kansas City for a minor league lefty.

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junker-town · 4 years

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Has Cam Newton played his last game for the Panthers?

Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images

Newton went on injured reserve and has no guaranteed money remaining on his contract.

Cam Newton won’t be returning to the Panthers’ lineup anytime soon. Carolina put its starting quarterback on injured reserve in advance of a Week 10 showdown with the Packers, ending his 2019 regular season after only two games due to a foot injury.

That decision puts a middling franchise at a crossroad. Newton, the 2015 NFL MVP, has only one year and no guaranteed money remaining on his contract. His replacement, former undrafted free agent Kyle Allen, is 5-1 as a starter in his stead. Moving on from Newton via trade would likely bring some draft assets back in return while saving the team more than $19 million in salary cap space in 2020.

A Newton trade or release seemed unheard of four years ago when the dual-threat passer rallied his team to a 15-1 regular season record and the NFC championship. His Panthers have stagnated since then; he’s an even 23-23 as a starter in the three-plus years since.

In that span, they’ve missed the postseason twice and gotten a new owner who may be looking to make a splash. David Tepper bought the franchise from a scandal-embroiled Jerry Richardson after a wildly successful finance career based predicated on bold moves. He could make another such deal by swapping out his starting QB and head coach Ron Rivera this offseason.

So what are the odds Carolina moves on from its all-time passing leader?

Christian D’Andrea: 20 percent

Still, Newton’s top gear puts him on a completely different plane than those guys. While it may be panning for fool’s gold to hope he’ll ever be the same player he was — especially as nagging injuries have conspired to sap a little bit more of his strength every year — he still brings plenty to the table.

James Dator: 45 percent

That said, there are salary cap and coaching issues at play too. Should the Panthers decide to part ways with Rivera (and general manager Marty Hurney by extension) after the season, then there is a plausible scenario where a new leadership team wants “their guy” to be the quarterback moving forward. Newton will eat up a sizable chunk of the team’s cap space next season, and it might seem prudent on paper to free up that money and get some draft picks in exchange.

On a personal level, moving on from Newton is just gross. The front office retained their jobs on his back for the last 8 years, floundering to give their franchise QB decent receivers or an offensive line of note. He still went on to take them to a Super Bowl and become the best passer in team history despite every card in the beck being stacked against him. Newton never threw the organization under the bus, even when they deserved it. Turnabout is fair play and they deserve to stick with him now.

What does this mean for the Panthers going forward?

D’Andrea: Two questions for you, James.

What do you think Tepper’s presence means to the franchise and how much he’s ready to take the wheel after leaving things relatively stable in his first year as owner?

What you think the Panthers would do with the extra cash/assets the team would glean from moving on from Newton?

Some questions for you, since you don’t have a vested interest as a fan.

Is there a scenario you see where the Panthers can compete in the next five years without Newton?

Looking ahead to the draft: Is there any way the Panthers could conceivably find another franchise QB quickly?

D’Andrea: I think the Panthers could be a couple of impact defensive players away from being able to succeed with a caretaker QB. Hell, they’re 5-3 right now with Allen playing roughly as well as late-stage Andy Dalton. McCaffrey’s cheat code abilities out of the backfield should boost any quarterback, and adding another few difference makers to the core of Luke Kuechly, Brian Burns, Donte Jackson, Kawann Short, and a potentially re-signed Mario Addison could mire opponents long enough for an average QB to squeak out a series of wins. The last two guys on that list are starting to get old, though — so Carolina would have to make that move soon.

The Panthers have gone 5-1 without Newton in the lineup in 2019 and have jumped into the thick of the NFC playoff race behind Allen, stout defense, and McCaffrey’s MVP-like performance. However, Carolina is only 1-2 against teams with winning records this season and still has plenty of work to do before putting a capital “C” on their contender status.

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