Around the NHL VIII - 2017-2018 Season

[PredsV82]

So with no Weber and no Chara, who will be the favorite in the hardest shot this year?

 

[NSH615]

So with no Weber and no Chara, who will be the favorite in the hardest shot this year?

Probably Subban. He finished 2nd to Weber in Nashville if I remember right.

 

[PredsV82]

Probably Subban. He finished 2nd to Weber in Nashville if I remember right.

thats right he did.. cool

 

[sparkle twin]

Stamkos has always has a pretty hard shot in this contest as well.

 

[PredsV82]

dangit... just when it looked like Florida was going to beat Vegas, Neal scores with 2 minutes to go...

 

[drwpreds]

dangit... just when it looked like Florida was going to beat Vegas, Neal scores with 2 minutes to go...

They did lose in OT, but holy moly what a move by Neal on his goal.....

 

[NoNecksCurse]

They did lose in OT, but holy moly what a move by Neal on his goal.....

im so tired of vegas. i don't want to sound bitter. but they shouldn't be this good so soon. i really hope they modify the expansion draft for Seattle or whoever comes in next.

 

[TitansVolsPreds615]

I really really miss James neal

 

[Marty Party]

Aside from playing a little OT hockey last night, Florida may also be starting a 0-0-0 goalie tonight.

Good for us. Maybe.

 

[drwpreds]

im so tired of vegas. i don't want to sound bitter. but they shouldn't be this good so soon. i really hope they modify the expansion draft for Seattle or whoever comes in next.

Yep- same here. I am really starting to develop some hate for them. It is a great story, but would love to see them fall apart second half......

 

[PredsV82]

im so tired of vegas. i don't want to sound bitter. but they shouldn't be this good so soon. i really hope they modify the expansion draft for Seattle or whoever comes in next.

If the rumored expansion fee of 650 million is true if anything the expansion rules will favor the expansion team more. What will be interesting is Vegas performance this year sets the bar for the next expansion club. If they suck like a typical expansion team their fans are gonna be salty.

 

[wadesworld]

im so tired of vegas. i don't want to sound bitter. but they shouldn't be this good so soon. i really hope they modify the expansion draft for Seattle or whoever comes in next.

As much as I agree, it really isn't good for the league to artificially make expansion teams "pay their dues." Yeah, I know it's not fair to all of us who had to do it, but it really is better for the league and the new franchise if an expansion team can be competitive right away. That said, nobody expected Vegas to be this good and I certainly don't expect a repeat.

 

[Drake744]

Yep- same here. I am really starting to develop some hate for them. It is a great story, but would love to see them fall apart second half......

It's starting to get past great story at this point. A great story is Colorado going from historically terrible to playoff race in a few months. Vegas is doing a lot of good things but now that they're making all the rounds and playing every team, all fan bases are starting to see that the way this team is constructed isn't exactly the cute little movie script everyone thought it was.

 

[NoNecksCurse]

As much as I agree, it really isn't good for the league to artificially make expansion teams "pay their dues." Yeah, I know it's not fair to all of us who had to do it, but it really is better for the league and the new franchise if an expansion team can be competitive right away. That said, nobody expected Vegas to be this good and I certainly don't expect a repeat.

i guess it is good for the league. but i believe they are the favorite to come out of the west at this point.

 

[Drake744]

What's going to be interesting about Vegas is what they do at the deadline. Maybe I'm naive here but I think it's highly possible that they've been so much better than they thought, that now they aren't gonna be sellers, which they were probably banking on to sort of boost the prospect base, it could hurt them moving forward. It'll be an attractive free agency destination for sure but if the prospect cupboard is pretty bare that's gonna be tough when they do inevitably lose some good players from this year's team.

 

[predfan24]

I have been throughly impressed with Vegas every time I’ve seen them. Even last game when we beat them I thought we were pretty fortunate to win that game in regulation.

That being said I still think they hit a wall eventually. Whether it’s next game or in the third round of playoffs I’m not sure. But I would bet they hit a wall.

Their lineup they field every night I could buy as being a good playoff contender but not a SC contender. Their core group of guys have been so crazy consistent and the reason these guys were exposed was because most have been secondary inconsistent players most their careers.

Lets take a look:

James Neal - on pace for getting close to his career high in goals but this time w/o an elite playmaking Center. We know better than most how streaky he is.

Marchesseault- I’m a big fan. Think he is a really skilled guy. He’s not a PPG player though.

Smith - Not as skilled as March but a similar story. Producing far above historical average.

Perron - Ditto. Decent second line winger. Not close to a PPG talent.

Haula- Always been a big fan. Thought he was a talented guy even in Minn. That being said he’s not 30-30 good.

The Defense is solid if unspectacular. There isn’t a guy back there who is going to take over a game.

Eventually these forwards that are carrying them will regress back to their means, go on cold streaks etc. They will make the playoffs at this point and it’s a great story but they aren’t best team in the West good.

 

[Scoresberg]

McKinnon is an insane player. Gets my vote for Hart Trophy.

 

[Drake744]

McKinnon is an insane player. Gets my vote for Hart Trophy.

When I go watch us play in Colorado in March I've considered getting a MacKinnon t-shirt just out of respect haha. Okay it's because I like him and I don't mind the Avs. I wish they weren't in our division.

 

[drwpreds]

i guess it is good for the league. but i believe they are the favorite to come out of the west at this point.

Vegas has made my “no way they make the playoffs” stance look completely stupid.

But favorite in the West??? No way- I’m still sticking to that.

Playoffs are a whole different animal- being at top of the conference right now will mean squat come April

Remember last year at this time?? Columbus, Minnesota and Chicago were considered the favorites to win the Cup.
How’d that work out??

Long way to go....

 

[Drake744]

Vegas has made my “no way they make the playoffs” stance look completely stupid.

Everybody looked stupid as far as Vegas is concerned. Kinda naive to realize we all thought that, but I distinctly remember laughing at Vegas (sportsbooks) having Colorado and, I think, Vancouver behind them in point totals before the season started. Joke's on us.

 

[GoldOnGold]

Colorado, Dallas and Winnipeg have already won games today. This division is ridiculous.

 

[PredsV82]

I distinctly remember the question about Vegas and Colorado heading into the season by almost all the pundits was which one would be 30th and which would be 31st.... and as of right now they would meet each other in round 1.

 

[NoNecksCurse]

f*** this shit. any other year we would have a very comfortable gap. none of that this year. ridiculous.

 

[PredsV82]

**** this ****. any other year we would have a very comfortable gap. none of that this year. ridiculous.

Preds, Dallas and Jets all 7-2-1 in last 10. And we all lost ground to Colorado.

The only "good"division news is both the Blues and Hawks appear to be having serious goaltending issues.

 

[PredsV82]

And I had no idea that the team with the least regulation losses in the league was... Boston??