• Check out the relaunch of our general collection, with classic designs and new ones by our very own Pissog!

The Everything NHL Thread

I think they certainly could, especially in that division. Their young players are really coming into their own, and yeah, it helps a TON to have halfway competent goaltending. They just need some better puck-moving defensemen to make a serious push.

Yeah, I forgot about Panarin. He's definitely in contention, though him winning would just be another Sergei Makarov.
 
PDO will soon come back down to Earth, but they're still quite legit. I could see them winning a playoff series this spring.
 
DM said:
PDO will soon come back down to Earth, but they're still quite legit. I could see them winning a playoff series this spring.
Click to expand...
Depends who they draw, though. Right now, they'd get the Lightning, who seem to at least be figuring things out to some extent, and I'm probably not going to bet against TB (who I foolishly picked to win the Cup in the preseason, but they're not a team anybody would really want to mess around with).

Even Montreal could be a threat in the Atlantic IF Price comes back in time to save their season. Complete flip from last year, when Price bailed out a team that basically gave up prime scoring chances and didn't dictate the shot attempts, compared to this version that actually does generate more opportunities, yet is let down by shoddy netminding. But that said, I don't like to pick teams to win Cups that aren't anchored by No. 1 centers, and Montreal doesn't exactly have that guy. That's an advantage Florida has with Barkov (great extension for him, by the way: totally reasonable).

Detroit's not easy to beat either. Yeah: that defense isn't particularly great, but there's a lot of talent on that forward group with Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Tatar, Nyquist, and Larkin. Plus, Mrazek has been incredible for them this year (they really should have beat Tampa last year, but failed to put away those opportunities).

I think Florida's "best" chance to win a series comes if they draw one of the Metropolitan Division wild-card teams. They should definitely be favored over New Jersey (though Cory Schneider's capable of stealing a series all by himself: so underrated). If we're talking PDO regression, the Rangers are a prime candidate (their possession numbers are quite bad and have declined so much from that 2014 Cup Finals team), though they've already been hit with regression to an extent and have improved there. But that's a lot better than where a lot of us thought Florida would be before the season (mostly unable to hang with the "great" teams of the East).
 
Yeah, there has been a lot of up and down in the East this year, whereas the West has been quite stagnant and predictable for the most part. Price's return would be an enormous boon to Montréal's playoff chances, but only if he makes it back in time: they are league bottom over the last 25 games.
 
DM said:
Yeah, there has been a lot of up and down in the East this year, whereas the West has been quite stagnant and predictable for the most part. Price's return would be an enormous boon to Montréal's playoff chances, but only if he makes it back in time: they are league bottom over the last 25 games.
Click to expand...
Feels like the West Finals will just be LA vs. Chicago, but that 2014 WCF is the best series of hockey I've seen in a long time, so give me that series any day. Well, unless the team I root for (Anaheim) ever figures out how to score goals, but even then, I wouldn't pick them above Chicago or LA (because let's face it: they're getting to Game 7 and losing anyway, though they are playing better now: Getzlaf needs to figure it out though). LA/CHI would be so much fun. Honestly, I get that people will complain about it being boring because "Chicago's in it every year and LA wins every even year", but what other teams will give you as entertaining a series with high stakes? Dallas, maybe. Hard to argue anyone else (maybe Nashville if Rinne ever plays competently this year).

Think Dallas could pull an upset, but the way they play is so much back-and-forth that it really tests their defense (which isn't bad) and goaltending (which isn't very good). Then again, their speed could be a game-breaker, but I don't generally like teams that cede so many scoring chances to succeed (it's why I've been kind of reserved on their actual chances of winning it all this year).
 
I don't follow the NHL so pardon my lack of knowledge, but why was John Scott chosen as the internet's scapegoat for the All-Star selections? I would understand if he were like, the NHL's Scalabrine, but I looked him up and he doesn't seem to stand out among the pack of run-of-the-mill average players.

Either way, I feel bad for the guy but he's been making some real nice PR moves, so good for him for finding opportunity in the whole thing.
 
Don't feel bad for him. He can make a lot of money for his family this AllStar Game that makes a big difference. Other real stars think of the bonuses etc as chump change. But he said how important it is for him and his fam
 
Tokyo Tom said:
I don't follow the NHL so pardon my lack of knowledge, but why was John Scott chosen as the internet's scapegoat for the All-Star selections? I would understand if he were like, the NHL's Scalabrine, but I looked him up and he doesn't seem to stand out among the pack of run-of-the-mill average players.

Either way, I feel bad for the guy but he's been making some real nice PR moves, so good for him for finding opportunity in the whole thing.
Click to expand...
He's more or less known as the most untalented player in the NHL. He is a great enforcer but he skates at a Junior B defenceman's level. I agree though he seems like a genuinely nice guy who has been really mistreated by the NHL, he's one of the best at what he does so he deserves to be in the league IMO and if the fans want to see him in the all-star game (which only exists for viewers) then so be it.

I kind of wanted a discussion here of Wideman's cross check on the linesman the other night. Although I've never touched an official, I've done some pretty dumb stuff after a hard hit, especially a dirty one (I think any hockey player knows how frustrating it is) so I kind of get where he is coming from. I'm kind of disgusted at the fact that he didn't own up to it though as he claimed he didn't see the linesman which is a clear lie.
 
Tokyo Tom said:
I don't follow the NHL so pardon my lack of knowledge, but why was John Scott chosen as the internet's scapegoat for the All-Star selections? I would understand if he were like, the NHL's Scalabrine, but I looked him up and he doesn't seem to stand out among the pack of run-of-the-mill average players.

Either way, I feel bad for the guy but he's been making some real nice PR moves, so good for him for finding opportunity in the whole thing.
Click to expand...
There are bonus incentives for how far you get in the 3-on-3 tournament. It's not much to those making multiple millions of dollars, but to players who are either on cheap one-year deals (Scott) or Larkin (ELCs), those extra bonuses definitely matter. A friend of mine said that if you want a lot of effort in the game, take a couple of those players who the extra money could benefit and see where it goes (mostly very good players on rookie deals).

Personally, I wasn't a fan of him getting selected, but when he was, that was the end of it. Nothing I could do to really change it. It's one of the negatives of fan voting (something I personally am not a fan of), but the way the NHL handled it was pretty laughable.

Genesis7 said:
He's more or less known as the most untalented player in the NHL. He is a great enforcer but he skates at a Junior B defenceman's level. I agree though he seems like a genuinely nice guy who has been really mistreated by the NHL, he's one of the best at what he does so he deserves to be in the league IMO and if the fans want to see him in the all-star game (which only exists for viewers) then so be it.

I kind of wanted a discussion here of Wideman's cross check on the linesman the other night. Although I've never touched an official, I've done some pretty dumb stuff after a hard hit, especially a dirty one (I think any hockey player knows how frustrating it is) so I kind of get where he is coming from. I'm kind of disgusted at the fact that he didn't own up to it though as he claimed he didn't see the linesman which is a clear lie.
Click to expand...

I guess this angle helps Wideman's case (seems more like a collision). First time I saw it, I thought he had a concussion and hit the closest thing to the Nashville bench, but the more I've watched it, especially the SportsNet view, it doesn't look good for him. That said, I also agree with this statement.
 
Genesis7 said:
He's more or less known as the most untalented player in the NHL. He is a great enforcer but he skates at a Junior B defenceman's level. I agree though he seems like a genuinely nice guy who has been really mistreated by the NHL, he's one of the best at what he does so he deserves to be in the league IMO and if the fans want to see him in the all-star game (which only exists for viewers) then so be it.

I kind of wanted a discussion here of Wideman's cross check on the linesman the other night. Although I've never touched an official, I've done some pretty dumb stuff after a hard hit, especially a dirty one (I think any hockey player knows how frustrating it is) so I kind of get where he is coming from. I'm kind of disgusted at the fact that he didn't own up to it though as he claimed he didn't see the linesman which is a clear lie.
Click to expand...

Nah, did you see that time he burned Brooks Orpik?

It started off as a joke but as people started to get to know Scott's personality they generally really warmed up to him and are really happy to see him at the ASG. He's pretty much the last "pure" enforcer in the league so him going there is kind of a last hurrah for an era.
 
John Scott, NHL All-Star Game MVP

if you predicted that at the start of the season, pass me some lottery numbers next powerball
 
so the leafs really succeeded in getting rid of phaneuf

my first thought was LOL the sens really traded for phaneuf

but at the same time, I can see the trade helping them. they dont really have cap issues and defensively they're pretty awful. with karlsson being there to take the offensive part of the job I can see him working defensively. but in the end it's still LOL phaneuf

idk what to think of this trade honestly...
 
Jirachee said:
so the leafs really succeeded in getting rid of phaneuf

my first thought was LOL the sens really traded for phaneuf

but at the same time, I can see the trade helping them. they dont really have cap issues and defensively they're pretty awful. with karlsson being there to take the offensive part of the job I can see him working defensively. but in the end it's still LOL phaneuf

idk what to think of this trade honestly...
Click to expand...
I like the trade, it was basically Michalek for Phaneuf with Cowen acting as like a 3rd round pick. Honestly I'm not a huge Sens fan but living in the city it's tough not to watch them a lot. I think Phaneuf's playstyle isn't super fitting with the Sens but after a while I'm sure he will be a good asset. Good trade for the Sens, Leafs came out OK but Michalek is on his last legs and Cowen isn't an NHL caliber D-man yet imo and at 25 it seems like he won't be.
 
It was basically Phaneuf for Lindgren+a 2nd, with trash thrown in to balance and remove the need for salary retain*
 
I really like the trade from Toronto's perspective. Getting that contract off the books is huge, and none of the three roster players they acquired are under contract beyond next season. They're probably going to buy out Cowen and Greening anyway, so in reality they basically just acquired the pick+prospect, and cap space for Stamkos and friends.
 
I like the trade from Sens' perspective too. They're not a cap team so taking a front loaded contract helps them and Phaneuf does a lot to fix their problems. No matter how much shit he gets, he's still a decent #2 and a GREAT #3. Good hoceky trade for both sides.
 
12729048_10154316219444239_7702898480239215430_n.jpg

Happy birthday 50th LA Kings!

I set this to record and planned to watch it after we got home from dinner. The restaurant we went to had a bunch of TVs so we asked for the Kings game and I see 9-2 on the screen. I literally wiped my eyes three times to see if I wasn't hallucinating. Haven't seen a blowout like this in ages.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top