Jim Robson Division Second Round #2 Seattle Metropolitans vs. #3 Vancouver Blazers

[Frightened Inmate #2]

I wouldn't say that I am writing players off but rather that I would heed caution on players - especially goaltenders who played the game before the 1929 due to the changes in the game. The goals per game in 1928-29 was 2.9 goals per game (for both teams of course). After offensive forward passes were instituted the goals increased to 5.9 goals per game. Looking at all of the statistics (as one doesn't have the benifit of game film or a large viewing audience) I would say that he was one of the best 3-4 goaltenders in the pre-Original 6 era of the NHL and I don't really think that is elite in an all time draft and I would put Benedict near the bottom in terms of overall goaltenders selected.

Skill wise I still stronly believe that Tkachuk - Messier - Fleury will be able to produce goals against the much slower second line of Denneny - Clarke - Kerr. And Yakushev looks out of place on the first line as I always viewed him as a second line player - and one whose reputation was helped a great deal due to the Summit Series - similar to Paul Henderson in a way.

 

[BM67]

Benedict has far and away the best record for any goalie as far as topping the league statistically. In a 18 year career, 5 NHA/13 NHL, he led in wins 8 times, SO 9 times, and GAA 9 times. He also won 4 Stanley Cups.

Benedict has more of a learning curve to master the modern game, but he seems to have many of the strengths that make Plante my choice as greatest goalie of all time. I'd say he's a legit starter, so he shouldn't count as a minus to his team, except in comparison to Plante.

 

[kruezer]

I wouldn't say that I am writing players off but rather that I would heed caution on players - especially goaltenders who played the game before the 1929 due to the changes in the game. The goals per game in 1928-29 was 2.9 goals per game (for both teams of course). After offensive forward passes were instituted the goals increased to 5.9 goals per game. Looking at all of the statistics (as one doesn't have the benifit of game film or a large viewing audience) I would say that he was one of the best 3-4 goaltenders in the pre-Original 6 era of the NHL and I don't really think that is elite in an all time draft and I would put Benedict near the bottom in terms of overall goaltenders selected.

Skill wise I still stronly believe that Tkachuk - Messier - Fleury will be able to produce goals against the much slower second line of Denneny - Clarke - Kerr. And Yakushev looks out of place on the first line as I always viewed him as a second line player - and one whose reputation was helped a great deal due to the Summit Series - similar to Paul Henderson in a way.

I guess I'll just have to agree to disagree about Benedict, I think he was clearly the best goalie of the pre-original six era and legitimately top ten all time, and that relative dominance should count for something, I still disagree about viewing things from a time frame of today in the concept of an all time draft, but thats JMO.

Yakushev is a second liner, I agree, but in order to spread the scoring a bit, I have him riding shotgun with two of the top 50 players of all time, he may be the weakest link on that line, but that line is still dominant, especially considering that the defensive pairing behind KLM line will be weak to say the least, guys like Blake and Pospisil simply would not be able to stop players of that skill level. As for the Messier line outscoring the Clarke line, I don't think they will when they end up facing guys like Robinson/Wilson/Lowe/Ludwig, not too mention that Clarke is arguably one of the best two way forwards of all time, and his wingers clearly have more goal scoring ability than Tkachuk/Fleury. The Lindros line is really gonna have to dominate the series for the Cowboys/Blazers to have a chance, and I don't think they will be able to do so.

 

[Frightened Inmate #2]

I think that you are first really underrating the defensive capabilities of the Blazers blueline. They don't have the stud defenseman in Robinson that you have but past that they are very similar defenses with the difference being the size advantage held by my players. They are all solid defensemen in their own zone who I would trust everyday of the week to win the battles down low and in front of the net - and with slow plodding players such as Denneny and Kerr being counted on to provide offense that is where much of your goals are going to have to come from? Do the Blazers excell at a transition game - no. Do the Blazers excel at a win the battles in the corner, make the opposition pay type game? In my opinion the answer is undoubtably yes.

Benedict gets lumped together with Vezina, Gardiner and Hainsworth when determining who was the best goaltender of the pre-original 6 era....

 

[Nalyd Psycho]

Benedict gets lumped together with Vezina, Gardiner and Hainsworth when determining who was the best goaltender of the pre-original 6 era....

Vezina is only included by those who think the award was named after him for skill, not his untimely death. Gardiner might have been the greatest of all time if not for his death. And comparisons to a goalie who had 22 shutouts in 44 games is not a bad thing. I'd say Benedict is better, but Hainsworth is a legit starter in the all-time draft.

 

[Frightened Inmate #2]

Vezina was included because he was a great goaltender before he died (still wouldn't have him as a started however) and the same goes for Gardiner (who I think you overrate by more than a tad)

 

[Nalyd Psycho]

Vezina was included because he was a great goaltender before he died (still wouldn't have him as a started however) and the same goes for Gardiner (who I think you overrate by more than a tad)

Gardiner was elligable for the post season all-star team four times, he has 3 1st team all-stars and 1 2nd team all-star. That's pretty increadible. Yes, he could have slipped after that, but if he maintains pace for 5 more seasons, he's in league with the big 5 goalies.

Vezina was a great goalie, but he was consistently a step behind Benedict. He definitely belongs as a back-up in this draft. Probably somewhere around 30 all-time.

 

[BM67]

A couple of bios for Bill Cook

http://nyrangerslegends.blogspot.com/2006/07/bill-cook.html

 

[BM67]

Coaching: Have to give the edge to the Blazers as Imlach will be hated by half his players, and loved by the other half, but time after time he was able to get more out of players than anyone thought he would. Advantage: Blazers

Goaltending: As I rate Plante as the best of all-time it would be hard for anyone but the Blazers to get the advantage. That said Benedict is a more than able #1, and Cheevers has a rep for money goaltending, so the Mets should have quality goaltending as well. Advantage: Blazers

Defense: The Mets have clear advantage in 1st pairings as Robinson is far and away the best defenseman on either squad, and Wilson might be the second best. Of course since Blake and Pospisil are both contenders for that second best title, they are a more than decent 1st pairing themselves. The second pairings favour the Blazers as Smith and Chara have quite a bit more offense than Lowe and Ludwig, as well as a huge size advantage. The 3rd pairings are pretty even, with Samuelsson having more offense than Morrow, and Greschner being a better defender than Ozolinsh. I say Dion is a better 7th defenseman than Gonchar as well. Advantage: Mets

Note: These are the 2 biggest defenses in the Draft.
Defense averages (with spares) shots
Cowboys: 6’3.2â€, 218.7 (6’3.1â€, 218.1) r-l 1-6
Metropolitans: 6’2.7â€, 207.8 (6’2.7â€, 208.6) r-l 1-6

Forwards: I'm not really sure what the matchups are going to be here. I don't see a checking line on the Mets, so they could go #1 line against #1 line. Any way you slice it, the Blazers are going to get an advantage on at least one matchup, be it through strength, speed or both. I think the Cook Morenz duo could break out, but I don't think it will be enough. Advantage: Blazers

Overall: Blazers in 5 or 6.