NHL Back of the Net thread

cestuneblague · 2022-10-08T23:14:53-04:00

Yes hockey's back in the picture and even though the M's have distracted me I'm still excited for the season. Interesting in the fact there doesn't seem to be too much change in predictions from last season, just a lot of potential breakouts from the younger teams. Unfortunately none of my teams look promisinf this year but still excited to go to some games, got Panthers & Kraken and perhaps Red Wings on the docket. Anyways for the surely wrong progniscations: Eastern Conference 1) Tampa Bay- Always seems like the cap is creeping up on them, but once again they seem primed to rule a stacked east. Smart offensive play and shutdown goaltending, don't really need much more than that and could see the first four-straight Stanley Cup appearances in generations. Target, meet back. 2) Toronto- Greatest regular season team, they'll outscore everybody and look dominant most nights, but until their goaltending can be effective consistently they're going to keep seeing playoff heartbreak. 3) Florida- Were at their best last year but also a bit lucky, got exposed a bit during the playoffs. If their offense can be more dominant early in games they can see a long playoff run, especially with those goaltenders, but their front lines still seem far from flawless. 4) Carolina- Boring but fairly brilliant, they have the easier division in a brutal east. 5) NY Rangers- As an Islanders fan it hurts to say this team is really good, especially behind the blue line. If their scoring stays consistent and they get a key breakout (namely Kokko) they could be a dark horse. 6) Pittsburgh- This is where it gets murky, I could see many teams competing for the last few playoff spots but all seem a few cuts below the top 5. Pitt still looks good enough to have one last hurrah, but it really is time to move on. Expect a clearance sale by January if they fall out of playoff contention. 7) Washington- Ditto all of the above. 8) Detroit- This is my no guts no glory prediction, Detroit has acquired so much young talent and they all have a great chance at a breakout year, Seider is my favorite young player next to Caufield and Beniers. Again, alot has to go right, but it looks lime the dynasty is coming back for a long time. 9) Boston- If they were healthy I would put them as a playoff team no exception, even with a heavily aging core. But so many injuries to key players, including many who won't be back till after the brwak, makes them a question mark. Can they make up a lot of ground so late in the season? Skeptical, but its very likely ill be proven wrong. 10) NY Islanders- Leagues steadiest team, donno if that's serving them well. They seem a long way off from their near-Stanley Cup appearance in 2021. Perhaps though their defensive-minded , keepaway-friendly hockey will help them earn a low playoff seed. 11) Colombus- Poached Gaudreau from the Flames, that was cute I guess, but despite some other decent moves they still need to do more to gain relevancy. However, they should be playing meaningful games in march. 12) Ottawa- Have made the right moves, should improve, but until they can stop the cheap goals they're not seeing the playoffs. 13) Devils- Have amassed some top young talent thanks to thumb-on-the-scale lottery luck good drafting, but still seem to be searching for consistency throughout their lineups and an overall identity. Jack Hughes staying healthy will be huge for them being relevant this year. 14) Sabres- Was impressed with how they handled the Eichel drama last year and were pretty competent overall on the ice. The east is too stacked for them to be competitive year-round, but for the third-times-a-charm this rebuild is actually going in the right direction. 15) Montreal- Wow they fell off hard after their Cinderella run, even with Carey Price healthy :cry: they don't seem anywhere near a playoff spot unless they're betting the farm on Kirby Dach. I donno, if Caufield and Suzuki have that long-awaited breakout they may be decent this year, but whether they want to admit it they're fully in reload mode these days. 16) Philadelphia- Both the twin dragons of bad luck and underachievment from their veterans have burned the franchise, its time to be awful and go after a Bedard and finally speed up a window of contention. Western Conference 1) Colorado- Still the team to beat, even with some losses, back to dynasty mode in the west? 2) Edmonton- How will they respond now that expectations are so high? Not only the two best skaters but arguably top offensive lines in the whole game. Is Jack Campbell the answer in front of the net to keep them from giving up cheap goals? If he stays healthy watch out, and they should dominate the pacific. 150 points for Bedard? 3) Wild- Only worry was Kaprizov and he's here, this is a potentially fierce team that may finally push Minnesotta back to NHL relevance, but finally seeing postseason success is vital in making that happen. 4) Calgary- Gad jilting them at the alter for the Blue Jackets ps wasn't great PR, but honestly they still looks just as good as last year's team overall. Deciding whether to blow up an aging core will have to be done in the next couple of years, but could see a Battle of Alberta rematch in the spring. 5) LA Kings- Have had a really nice rebuild, and even with virtually the same roster have a chance to see even greater improvement with all their young talent. 6) St.Louis- Stanley Cup core slowly withering away but they still got a pretty good team, should be competitive even if the roster blowup may be coming soon. 7) Nashville- Have had a quiet but effective rebuild, and with better goaltending should lock up a lower seed. 8) Las Vegas- Everything caught up to them last year, but made some deft low-key moves that should see them at least return to the playoffs. 9) Vancouver- It sucks when you make so many win-now moves and don't win, but may have enough talent to sneak into the West's open-ended playoff race. 10) Winnipeg- Were a canuck favorite to end the national championship drought, but got exposed a bit last year. Have very similar team as last uear, so really have to prove last year was a hiccup and not a team that has fallen hard from their recent peak. 11) Dallas- Defense and toughness will keep them in the playoff contention, but shou!d still struggle to put the puck in the back of the net. 12) Anaheim- This is where the bottom of the west drops out. They have a lot of young talent and modestly overachieved last year, so they could surprise. 13) Seattle- Made some savvy off-season moves and having Matty B. all year should help them be more competitive and (with better goaltending mind you) stop getting destroyed on the power play, but likely will take another lottery and pick-rich year before they start having an eye on contention. 14) Chicago- Schadenfreude for their struggles? No this is all by design, another bad year for a chance at a top player to finally speed up a rebuild. 15) San Jose- No longer have the Evander distraction, but should still be pretty awful this year. Frontrunners in the Bedard sweepstakes. 16) Arizona- The El Misterio Voyage de Homer episode was less bizarre than the Coyotes story. No, its not a joke, they're playing home games at ASU stadium which has about 6000 seats. That's going to be nearly 80 bucks for nosebleed tickets to watch the Coyotes lose badly. If this doesn't work are they going to play their home games on a frozen lake in New Mexico? Its time to take Old Yeller to the back of the shed and put it out of it's misery, move the damn team already. For playoffs I think its definitely plausible we see a Conference Finals repeat in both matches. For shits and giggles I'm picking for the Stanley Cup? Lightning over Oilers in 6, the former the new dynasty and McDavid ageees to a record-breaking contract in the near future with Edmonton.

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Poll: Next Great Hockey City?

Quebec City:

25%

[2]

Yellowknife:

[0]

Houston:

12%

[1]

Kansas City:

[0]

Cincinatti:

[0]

Fargo:

[0]

Anchorage:

[0]

Providence:

12%

[1]

Halifax:

12%

[1]

Hamilton:

[0]

Nuuk:

12%

[1]

Victoria:

[0]

Portland (Maine):

12%

[1]

Yes Saskatchewan does exist:

12%

[1]

Total Votes : 8

cestuneblague Otana, but No Hito Profile
Location: Straight Outta Ballard

Montreal missing a major oppurtunity to go up 2-0 on Tampa Bay, but I'm still hopeful. Only real horse in the race with the Islanders and Kraken out, though I think they have a better shot then they're given credit for.

cestuneblague Otana, but No Hito Profile
Location: Straight Outta Ballard

Habs all the way to the Stanley Cup, ALLONS-Y. Maybe we can even be competitive enough to survive the eventual Avalanche (I'll see myself out).

CA Dreamin Profile
Location: LA

It looked like the natural disaster teams would inevitably face each other for the Stanley Cup. Both teams bulldozed their way through the first two rounds, but now find themselves down 1-0 in the conference finals against teams statistically much worse than them. Maybe Carolina and Colorado got overconfident, and/or out of rhythm due to a long wait in between rounds. I'm interested to see how it plays out but I don't have a rooting interest any more with Philly out of the picture. Maybe Colorado vs. Montreal cause hockey is a winter sport and I like the idea of cold weather teams playing for the cup. (Why does a Vegas have a team? There's never ice there. It's not even summer yet and it's already in the 90s there most days, I wonder how much money it costs to keep their rink from melting)

One final rant about the Flyers and Sixers this season. Both teams were eliminated on back-to-back days but the crowd reactions could not have been any different. Repo wrote on the basketball thread 'build around Maxey and Edgecomb and the Sixers will be contenders for years to come.' Maybe that's true but right now the Philly fanbase doesn't strongly believe in them, and they've clearly chosen they feel better about the Flyers. The Flyers received cheers and a long standing ovation after they lost Game 4. It was feel-good even in defeat, for they came so far against expectations and their future looks bright. The next day, however, in the very same building, Knicks fans were louder than Sixers fans. Sixers ticket-holders were selling them off a high rate, and it appears Knicks fans were the ones buying them. It was the opposite tone of the previous night, demonstrating that while it was very nice to see the Sixers knock off the Celtics, the overall fans' mood towards the Sixers is pessimism. They were contenders with realistic chances at winning it all in 2019, 2021, and 2023. But that simply feels like bygone history and their current team is living in the twilight of that window. Perhaps Repo is right and they can get better. That doesn't change the fact Philly fans (and most fans really) are fickle, fair-weather, and will flock to the teams on the upward swing. That team is the Flyers, hope to see them stronger next year!
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on such a winter's day

junodog4 Future Grumpy Old Man Profile
Location: Calgary

It also boils down to likability.

As a Flyers fan, I'm really getting behind this team of annoying pricks. Martone, Konecny, Zegras, etc... all have the right attitude for Flyers fans. Brings me back to when they had RIchards, Hartnell, Pronger...

Embiid has always been tough to like. George and Kawhai Leonard's hook up in Clipperland turned me off him. It's a shame - Maxey and Edgecome look great - they need to move on from the frontcourt.
_________________
Finnegan was super bad-ass.

cestuneblague Otana, but No Hito Profile
Location: Straight Outta Ballard

Hey Juno, great to see you around these parts again

Yeah with the Flyers I think it's just elation after so many years of terrible management decisions, now they finally have a team that's set up for the long run. Donno about the Sixers, are they still "trusting the process"? Amazingly the Phillies have played better since their incredibly rash decision to fire their manager a month into decision. I'm likely moving to the Philly area long-term ( well between Philly and New York), so I probably should be more in the know.

And I have to say this playoffs have been all a Habs fan can ask for, especially if they can keep up this Scoring streak. The Avalanche look pretty unbeatable though if Montreal does make it to Stanley.

junodog4 Future Grumpy Old Man Profile
Location: Calgary

Ugh. Vegas again?

I'd like to see Carolina win.

I know it's not rational, but I'm tired of the sun belt markets winning. If we could go awhile without Florida, Tampa, Carolina, Vegas or Anaheim winning, I would be happy. It feels more 'right' when markets like New York, Philly, Chicago, Buffalo, Minnesota, etc... have success (not to mention Canada). I know that the sun-belt has some great markets and well run teams, but...
_________________
Finnegan was super bad-ass.

cestuneblague Otana, but No Hito Profile
Location: Straight Outta Ballard

Uh.. I don't think it's going to seem "right" if Chicago wins anytime soon. If there's any franchise I'm taking Schadenfradue in a lack of success it's them, considering the NHL sure as fuck didn't think they were worth punishing in any meaningful way. And this is someone who's spent time in Chicago and am a genuine fan of the Bulls, and nothing against the fanbase.

Anyways, though, yeah it does just feel weird that the most rabid Hockey markets have had a lack of playoff success for so long, it being what 33 years since Canada's won a Stanley Cup? Also a long time since Detroit and new Minnesotta and the finally good-again Sabres have won too. Maybe that's saying something about Teams with less-rabid fanbases managing to have Rational-over-Rash-Decision management. Though in many ways success for Sunbelt teams don't always translate into higher attendance/interest, considering when I was down in Florida it was clear much of the attendees were actually the Canadian Snow Bunnies. And now all that interest has dissipated since more are avoiding Winters in Florida in the current political climate.

And for this Stanely Cup, I guess... go Hurricanes? even though they beat out the Habs. I am shocked the Avalanche didn't make it in, they looked like the most complete and imposing team, but the NHL playoffs are always full of surprises.

junodog4 Future Grumpy Old Man Profile
Location: Calgary

Well done Carolina... Glad Brindamour gets a cup coaching, and the team has been on the cusp for a while.

Sorry - I'm not sorry to see Carter Hart miss out. Dude may not have been guilty of criminal charges, but he's certainly part of the dubious culture of hockey players and women.
_________________
Finnegan was super bad-ass.

CA Dreamin Profile
Location: LA

The Stanley Cup Finals lost their intrigue for me when the two warm-climate teams advanced over the cold-climate teams. Still, Carolina winning was preferable because Vegas lost more games than they won in the regular season, and the idea of a losing team winning a championship bothers me.

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