Jack LaFontaine signed with Carolina

[MRJ]

Jack LaFontaine leaves a 'piece of his heart' with Gophers after signing with Hurricanes

Jack LaFontaine is the first Gophers player to leave for the NHL midseason in nearly 15 years.

www.startribune.com

Honestly, I'm not sure why he's referring to the Gophers as "we." He's no longer part of the team. It's now "they" or "them." He made an "I" decision and is still talking about "we." The new "we" is the Carolina Hurricanes and whatever minor league team he plays for.

As for the rest of the team, they need to forget about Laffer as ASAP. He's opted out and moved on. The sooner the team does that, the better.

 

[Gopho Sapiens]

Honestly, I'm not sure why he's referring to the Gophers as "we." He's no longer part of the team. It's now "they" or "them." He made an "I" decision and is still talking about "we." The new "we" is the Carolina Hurricanes and whatever minor league team he plays for.

As for the rest of the team, they need to forget about Laffer as ASAP. He's opted out and moved on. The sooner the team does that, the better.

If he lives to a 100, he will still be a Gopher.

 

[MRJ]

If he lives to a 100, he will still be a Gopher.

Doesn't matter one iota for this team. They need to focus on what they have, not on who left and how tough it is without those in the olympics or the guy who bailed midseason. It's not like they are/were setting the world on fire anyway. Now's the time to show some toughness, move on and show the fan base something.

 

[UncleSam'sMisguidedChild]

Jack is chasing his dream and in any other 2 year time frame he wouldn't even have been here this season in the first place. I understand his thought process. My first thought was "Okposo" too, but he was clearly a difference maker that I'm not so sure LaFontaine is. Jack is just fortunate that the NHL stars have aligned for him. Good luck to him.

There is a potential upside to this. It could galvanize the team and draw them tightly together. The D Corps will be forced to buckle down and the forwards might be better on the attack knowing that it's likely they'll need to score more to win. A guy can hope, right?

 

[Ope3]

Is bringing in a USHLer an option as at least a backup since spring semester has not started yet?

Reusse threw out a name on twitter.

 

[bonin21]

Is bringing in a USHLer an option as at least a backup since spring semester has not started yet?

Reusse threw out a name on twitter.

They are bringing in the 18 year old they already had committed from the USHL.

 

[Ope3]

They are bringing in the 18 year old they already had committed from the USHL.

Thanks. While LaFontaine's timing was less than ideal, at least it gave the Gophers a chance to bring another option on board.

 

[bonin21]

Thanks. While LaFontaine's timing was less than ideal, at least it gave the Gophers a chance to bring another option on board.

This is not a good thing. You don't want to bring in an 18 year old goalie that has overall been struggling in the USHL, and now you're going to burn a year of his eligibility.

The Gophers will now basically have a 2A/2B/2C goalie set instead of what should be a 1A/1B/3 goalie set. It's a mess and one of them will surely leave this summer.

They should look to add a true star goalie via the transfer portal this summer.

 

[Ope3]

This is not a good thing. You don't want to bring in an 18 year old goalie that has overall been struggling in the USHL, and now you're going to burn a year of his eligibility.

The Gophers will now basically have a 2A/2B/2C goalie set instead of what should be a 1A/1B/3 goalie set. It's a mess and one of them will surely leave this summer.

They should look to add a true star goalie via the transfer portal this summer.

If the new guy is the C option and they don't use him can't he redshirt to save the eligibility?

 

[bonin21]

If the new guy is the C option and they don't use him can't he redshirt to save the eligibility?

Maybe. But if he doesn't play and loses half a year in the USHL you're still hurting his development.

 

[2nd Degree Gopher]

This is not a good thing. You don't want to bring in an 18 year old goalie that has overall been struggling in the USHL, and now you're going to burn a year of his eligibility.

The Gophers will now basically have a 2A/2B/2C goalie set instead of what should be a 1A/1B/3 goalie set. It's a mess and one of them will surely leave this summer.

Understand the point, but don't they almost have to do something? Just for depth and practice purposes?

 

[Ski U Mah Gopher]

If they have a USHL goalie committed, bring him in. This will be a redshirt year for him.

 

[bonin21]

Understand the point, but don't they almost have to do something? Just for depth and practice purposes?

If Motzko had any trust in Boynton, they would just grab a former HS goalie from campus for the rest of the year. But he doesn't so they're bringing in Bartoszkiewicz

 

[GopherPete]

If Motzko had any trust in Boynton, they would just grab a former HS goalie from campus for the rest of the year. But he doesn't so they're bringing in Bartoszkiewicz

What's the deal with Boynton? People keep making general statements about it on GPL, but nobody is actually saying what the deal is. Is there a beef between him and Motzko, is he just not playing well in practice, is his return from injury hampering him?

 

[rowdaboat]

Tough go for Jack LaFontaine tonight in his NHL debut with Carolina. He took over in between the pipes for Frederik Andersen in the 3rd period with the Canes trailing 4-0, and let in two breakaways on three shots faced. If only the Hurricanes could’ve played better hockey for him

 

[bonin21]

Talk about a potential confidence killer

 

[Gophers1992]

Breaks my heart to see him struggle in Carolina

 

[DarthGopher]

I can't fault the guy for doing this. However, I can still be miffed that a guy with a C on his sweater elected to bail on his team mid-season. I don't care the opportunity now - it is a bad look for him and a bad look for Carolina.

This could be less of a free-for-all if the NHL forbid teams from plucking kids out of college mid-season to go pro. It goes all the way back to drafting these kids in high school and making them the team's "property" while they are still playing amateur development hockey. If teams like the Gophers are going to be treated like an ECHL-level team, then there is no motivation to ever stop this behavior.

In football and basketball, for example, once drafted, your collegiate career is done. It used to be just declaring for the draft meant your college career was done. A kid does not finish their collegiate season and immediately get inserted into a pro roster because they don't belong to anyone yet. The NHL and MLB seem to have continuous drafting, whereas the NFL and NBA have turned their draft events into, well, actual events that mean something. What this creates is clear demarcation between the amateur and professional ranks.

If you are the kind of die-hard that likes to spend money on diluted, transient products, more power to you. I've never watched an Iowa Wild game and doubt I ever will. Same goes for minor league baseball. I've never been to a St. Paul Saints game. Might go sometime, but it will be a one-off kind of thing. I pay zero attention to the roster or the standings.

 

[Ope3]

I can't fault the guy for doing this. However, I can still be miffed that a guy with a C on his sweater elected to bail on his team mid-season. I don't care the opportunity now - it is a bad look for him and a bad look for Carolina.

This could be less of a free-for-all if the NHL forbid teams from plucking kids out of college mid-season to go pro. It goes all the way back to drafting these kids in high school and making them the team's "property" while they are still playing amateur development hockey. If teams like the Gophers are going to be treated like an ECHL-level team, then there is no motivation to ever stop this behavior.

In football and basketball, for example, once drafted, your collegiate career is done. It used to be just declaring for the draft meant your college career was done. A kid does not finish their collegiate season and immediately get inserted into a pro roster because they don't belong to anyone yet. The NHL and MLB seem to have continuous drafting, whereas the NFL and NBA have turned their draft events into, well, actual events that mean something. What this creates is clear demarcation between the amateur and professional ranks.

If you are the kind of die-hard that likes to spend money on diluted, transient products, more power to you. I've never watched an Iowa Wild game and doubt I ever will. Same goes for minor league baseball. I've never been to a St. Paul Saints game. Might go sometime, but it will be a one-off kind of thing. I pay zero attention to the roster or the standings.

Another difference with NCAA Hockey compared to Basketball & Football, is the whole finishing High School then going to play Junior Hockey for few years. Most Freshmen are 19-20 years old.

Just pointing out, that it's a completely different landscape, good, bad or otherwise.

 

[From the Parkinglot]

Kid was out into a terrible situation by his team and advisors. Have up on a chance to play in the national championship for 2 games in the nhl and now is out of a job. I don’t see anyway he signs with a NHL team to play in the nhl again.

 

[upnorthkid]

Kid was out into a terrible situation by his team and advisors. Have up on a chance to play in the national championship for 2 games in the nhl and now is out of a job. I don’t see anyway he signs with a NHL team to play in the nhl again.

I don't think he would've played in the NHL either way after the year, but sucks to have to give up your final college year in that fashion. Clearly for him the NHL dream (or the money) was more important than the last ride. Kind of an "is what it is" moment for both sides.

 

[bonin21]

We all knew this was going to happen.

Close had a bad game in the Frozen Four final. For all we know, Lafontaine could have led the Gophers to a title.

 

[Gophers1992]

Yeah I doubt even Jack himself had any illusions he was going to have a long NHL career. He had a rare opportunity to cash in and he took it. Maybe he regrets missing out on a title but he would have missed out on tens of thousands of dollars had he stayed. I don't think his advisors gave him bad advice at all - financially he absolutely made the right move, even if I hate the idea of it.

 

[Ope3]

We all knew this was going to happen.

Close had a bad game in the Frozen Four final. For all we know, Lafontaine could have led the Gophers to a title.

Or with Lafontaine in the nets they could have gotten bounced in the First Round.

Personally with how the season was going, I think it was a "net" gain for the Gophers.

 

[DanvilleGopher]

Or with Lafontaine in the nets they could have gotten bounced in the First Round.

Personally with how the season was going, I think it was a "net" gain for the Gophers.

Lafontaine was not having a good final year and didn't shine when he had his chance in the NHL either BUT I think he made the right choice at that moment and it was a plus plus for both parties. Unfortunately goaltending is paramount to teams success in elimination games and Close didn't play his best in the end but did have a much better year than Lafontaine was looking to have when he made the jump.