GDT: Playoffs Push / “Tank”😂 Thread

[theoriginalBCF]

You cannot fault the players for giving it a go.

Unfortunately this team was trying to make up ground in the Tour De France while trying to use one bike with no repair tools or spare tires.

You need depth. Scoring depth, checking depth, defensive depth. This is what the team has been lacking since 2015. Ultimately guys like Horvat and Miller are expected to play a heavy two way game and take punishment in the form of shot blocks as a result while the useless shit like Jason Dickinson fails to even anticipate point shots or gets his ass caught out of position..

On D. Guys like Burroughs, Hunt, Schenn and Dermott have come in and really stepped up and done an admirable job. The biggest single issue is that 2nd pairing that's expected to eat up a bunch of minutes. They are just crazy inconsistent and ill fit to be in a top 4 role. Books out on OEL though as I feel he can be passable with a competent stay at home dman.

Tyler Myers is now worse than Gudbranson . Save for a 10 game stretch, the guy has been a flat out liability most of the season. Amazing size and okay skating but his brains are f***ed. The guy is too slow to anticipate developing plays and way too slow to react.

As for goaltending. It's one thing to give a guy 65+ starts. It's another to expect him to consistently face 30+ shots a game with many high scoring chances.

I changed my stance since Jan/Feb. A better supporting cast and added depth would really instill my faith in this core being a perennial playoff team. What's devastating is the team is all capped out and the supposed depth they have are locked in for another 3+ years limiting any improvements. Jim Benning, with his incompetence gave this team a prayer of a chance of reconstructing the roster by having some 16 mil come off the books in 2022, but a disastrous off-season in 2021 really closed that door. Aquilini was way too late to pull the trigger .

This is it 100%. Schenn played so well, but this is exactly it. Rutherford is a GM that has been able to do what is needed. He did it in Pitts specifically, and I have confidence he can do this.

 

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

Disagree. The last 15-20 games they have had several unsustainable things in their game. In fact for a good chunk of the entire time they have. Mostly goaltending but the last month+ it’s also been shooting percentage that has led to a massive goal imbalance in their favor. Much of it no t deserved on balance of play. They’ve been playing at 1.09 PDO the last chunk of the season. It’s also a team that has been playing without any sort of pressure on them ever since Boudreau. But if you want to pretend they were in this at some point then every time the pressure built a bit they immediately dropped points.

If you were to bring this roster into next season they will miss the playoffs because it’s not a playoff roster. I’m really sure management sees that as well and will be making changes.

What do you mean 'they've been playing without pressure'..?..That sounds a bit manufactured if you ask me..They crawled out of a monstrous pit (8-15-2), and eventually wound up going toe to toe with your beloved Vegas team, and Dallas..They went on a 6 game winning streak, and faltered at the end (you're just not going to win every game, and keep up that pace)..For every period of winning games, there's going to be an ebb and flow, and you drop a few..This even happens to the best SC contenders in the league.


Two more wins in October, and teams would have been chasing us..In the grand scheme of things, thats hairsplitting stuff.

If you brought back this squad next season, it would be a playoff team...A top 5 goaltender in the league...Petterssons back to form..Hughes is doing nothing but breaking team records..Miller, what can I say...The emergence of Podz as a top 6 player...Boudreau has managed to get the most out of the squad.

I cant speak for how they will do next season, until I see how Allvin changes up the roster..A part of me suspects that there will be more pruning ,than adding.

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

We can forget about the prospect pool in the short term. Reading the tea leaves, it very much looks like we will not be accumulating picks by selling off productive parts. That said, it also does not look like they will mortgage the future to the same extent either.

This offseason, I could see them parting ways with one of Miller or Boeser or Garland for RHD as well as trading Myers for minimal salary in return. Could see buyouts for Dickinson and Poolman.

Could also see them exploring the market for Pearson.

Needs to shore up are pretty clear:

1) top 4 defender, preferably RHD
2) 3C
3) 4C

All with an eye towards reallocating cap space from D to scoring/PK depth F and getting faster.

I would say that the number 1 need is to reallocate the cap space, it's the horse that goes before the cart so to speak. From there, building the future becomes a hell of a lot easier. I think you still hope OEL puts up an out-of-the-blue season and maybe you can trade him off with retaining minimal money (probably ends up in the $1-2M amount).

 

[Tomatoes11]

The team at its current state is doing no damage next year. The hoping 2 years but most likely 5 years is the right assessment. Nothing has changed no matter how much some people here has wished it to be based on the record with BB.

Yes it’s not an insignificant sample size but it’s also not a full season. Plus there were a lot of variables that motivated this crap team that legit thinks they are actually good.

A delusional run doesn’t change the DNA of this team. Which is.

Demko plays like Shesterkin or hasek or bust. We still need EP to hit 100 point player status. We still need Hughes to improve defensively. We still can’t afford all three of Boeser, miller, and Horvat when they are up. We still have a massively overpaid D that isn’t even very good. Our forwards would be good enough if we could afford them but since we can’t, fixing our D would probably weaken our forwards to the point of not good enough when it’s currently just good enough.

I don’t envy JR and Alvin to be honest. It’s a tricky mess unlike the straight forward sit back and chill situation LA is in.

Need to take a step back for sure so I hope people are expecting a down season next year and not playoffs lol

 

[Tomatoes11]

Man we are a mess lol

I doubt anyone wants OEL. So only thing we can do is hope he turns back the clock for that one run in 3-5 years. Like petry and weber for their fluky cup run. Weber was vintage weber for one season for the Canadians only but that’s the best we can hope with OEL.

 

[tantalum]

What do you mean 'they've been playing without pressure'..?..That sounds a bit manufactured if you ask me..They crawled out of a monstrous pit (8-15-2), and eventually wound up going toe to toe with your beloved Vegas team, and Dallas..They went on a 6 game winning streak, and faltered at the end (you're just not going to win every game, and keep up that pace)..For every period of winning games, there's going to be an ebb and flow, and you drop a few..This even happens to the best SC contenders in the league.


Two more wins in October, and teams would have been chasing us..In the grand scheme of things, thats hairsplitting stuff.

If you brought back this squad next season, it would be a playoff team...A top 5 goaltender in the league...Petterssons back to form..Hughes is doing nothing but breaking team records..Miller, what can I say...The emergence of Podz as a top 6 player...Boudreau has managed to get the most out of the squad.

I cant speak for how they will do next season, until I see how Allvin changes up the roster..A part of me suspects that there will be more pruning ,than adding.

Since Boudreau took over their playoff chances have never topped 25%. They haven't been playing under any pressure whatsoever because the playoffs were a complete longshot since US Thanksgiving. More than a long shot. It's literally the definition of playing with no pressure.

You are free to be delusional on if this team is brought back being a playoff team. It isn't. It has been shown over and over again to be lacking. I don't expect you to see it I really don't. Every year it's the same thing...IF they get this, IF this player does that, IF this other player does that. It's always upside. You never account for downside or as most people call it reality.

And then you have other things that come into play...is Vegas going to have over 500 man games lost next year? Is Edmonton going to finally get a goaltender and continue to build a solid team? Other teams will be building and improving (note if they were in the east they would still be 10 points out). These things don't happen in a vacuum and the sure way to stumble is by thinking that standing pat means you will continue the same results as the teams around you improve.

And really the reality is even if you want to buy "they held their own destiny", ignoring it would have required like 14 straight wins when they supposedly held that destiny, they promptly dropped 3 of 4 points. That has been the MO of this roster for ages. It will remain so until it undergoes changes. Since the beginning of March I think Buffalo has more wins...another team playing without pressure. I don't know where one draws the line on what is a supposedly sustainable run that promises a bright future. I tend to believe it's beyond 50 games. It's something that is proven through entire seasons and then some.

You call it hairsplitting and say "only needed two more wins in October". First they'd still not be secure in a playoff spot. Second the other side of that is not having a goaltender on an absolute potentially never duplicated again heater 5-on-5 may have prevented them from getting two losses. All of sudden it's 9 points out of the playoffs. That's a lot. There is a very tangible difference between teams that make it and teams that come up a handful of wins short.

Management will be making changes which I suppose means we'll never know if they'd make the playoffs with the same roster. That said the history of the previous GMs team building skills speaks for itself so I'm confident my prediction has a much greater chance of being true than yours.

 

[Tomatoes11]

Since Boudreau took over their playoff chances have never topped 25%. They haven't been playing under any pressure whatsoever because the playoffs were a complete longshot since US Thanksgiving. More than a long shot. It's literally the definition of playing with no pressure.

You are free to be delusional on if this team is brought back being a playoff team. It isn't. It has been shown over and over again to be lacking. I don't expect you to see it I really don't. Every year it's the same thing...IF they get this, IF this player does that, IF this other player does that. It's always upside. You never account for downside or as most people call it reality.

And then you have other things that come into play...is Vegas going to have over 500 man games lost next year? Is Edmonton going to finally get a goaltender and continue to build a solid team? Other teams will be building and improving (note if they were in the east they would still be 10 points out). These things don't happen in a vacuum and the sure way to stumble is by thinking that standing pat means you will continue the same results as the teams around you improve.

And really the reality is even if you want to buy "they held their own destiny", ignoring it would have required like 14 straight wins when they supposedly held that destiny, they promptly dropped 3 of 4 points. That has been the MO of this roster for ages. It will remain so until it undergoes changes. Since the beginning of March I think Buffalo has more wins...another team playing without pressure. I don't know where one draws the line on what is a supposedly sustainable run that promises a bright future. I tend to believe it's beyond 50 games. It's something that is proven through entire seasons and then some.

You call it hairsplitting and say "only needed two more wins in October". First they'd still not be secure in a playoff spot. Second the other side of that is not having a goaltender on an absolute potentially never duplicated again heater 5-on-5 may have prevented them from getting two losses. All of sudden it's 9 points out of the playoffs. That's a lot. There is a very tangible difference between teams that make it and teams that come up a handful of wins short.

Management will be making changes which I suppose means we'll never know if they'd make the playoffs with the same roster. That said the history of the previous GMs team building skills speaks for itself so I'm confident my prediction has a much greater chance of being true than yours.

No worries. They will learn the hard way by suffering with us for 2-5 years. The people who actually have a pulse on this team knows it’s no .700 or even .600 team. Lol

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

@tantalum

Yeah, this team where it is now is pretty much where *I* personally thought it would be, give or take 2-3 points. It's a playoff bubble team. That's how I saw them stack up against other teams. The abominable start and good finish are peaks and valleys that I personally don't account for, it's encouraging, but it's like going for a drive with a beat up car and nothing goes wrong. You are surprised, happy, but you still know that you need a new car soon.

 

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

Since Boudreau took over their playoff chances have never topped 25%. They haven't been playing under any pressure whatsoever because the playoffs were a complete longshot since US Thanksgiving. More than a long shot. It's literally the definition of playing with no pressure.

You are free to be delusional on if this team is brought back being a playoff team. It isn't. It has been shown over and over again to be lacking. I don't expect you to see it I really don't. Every year it's the same thing...IF they get this, IF this player does that, IF this other player does that. It's always upside. You never account for downside or as most people call it reality.

And then you have other things that come into play...is Vegas going to have over 500 man games lost next year? Is Edmonton going to finally get a goaltender and continue to build a solid team? Other teams will be building and improving (note if they were in the east they would still be 10 points out). These things don't happen in a vacuum and the sure way to stumble is by thinking that standing pat means you will continue the same results as the teams around you improve.

And really the reality is even if you want to buy "they held their own destiny", ignoring it would have required like 14 straight wins when they supposedly held that destiny, they promptly dropped 3 of 4 points. That has been the MO of this roster for ages. It will remain so until it undergoes changes. Since the beginning of March I think Buffalo has more wins...another team playing without pressure. I don't know where one draws the line on what is a supposedly sustainable run that promises a bright future. I tend to believe it's beyond 50 games. It's something that is proven through entire seasons and then some.

You call it hairsplitting and say "only needed two more wins in October". First they'd still not be secure in a playoff spot. Second the other side of that is not having a goaltender on an absolute potentially never duplicated again heater 5-on-5 may have prevented them from getting two losses. All of sudden it's 9 points out of the playoffs. That's a lot. There is a very tangible difference between teams that make it and teams that come up a handful of wins short.

Management will be making changes which I suppose means we'll never know if they'd make the playoffs with the same roster. That said the history of the previous GMs team building skills speaks for itself so I'm confident my prediction has a much greater chance of being true than yours.

You're obviously are not taking into account the 8-15-2 start this season..You're lumping it all together, which is pretty dishonest.... Under Boudreau the team never had prolonged losing streaks...Every team runs into fatigue points during the long season, and incurs losses to inferior opponents. ......We've played against Vegas, and Dallas, and honestly, neither of those teams are head and shoulders above the Canucks.

Buffalo winning since the end of March (thats garbage time), is radically different than the Canucks winning at the beginning of December...and Buffalo didnt have to crawl out of a 8-15-2 hole...Unfortunately, there's a finite number of games, and the Canucks simply ran out of runway....

I dont think anybody was delusional about this roster...IF we had this , or IF we had that is utter BS..The roster as it was , was a capable bubble team (and the D was supposed to be the achilles heel..with an aged out, useless OEL, and a horrible group on RHD)..The roster wasnt the problem, the coaching obviously was...(as the statistics clearly show)....There's a reason Allvin/JR left the roster intact.



Funny how you roll out a laundry list of excuses for Vegas, or other teams ..Injuries...If it was the Canucks that ran into injuries, wouldnt it just be an excuse..?. 'but injuries...everybody has them"

I'm not as pessimistic about the previous GM's team as some here (although , again, he certainly deserved to be fired)..There's some excellent players here (unfortunately, many of the better ones were MIA in the first 1/3rd of the season)....Again though, we will have to wait to see what Allvin does in the off season.

 

[mossey3535]

I mean, this was all predicted. Four games left and Canucks at 87 points, if they get 1 point per game here on out they'll finish at 91 points. A team that either just barely misses or just barely makes the playoffs. With epic runs of both losing and winning I think the results speak for themselves - a team that despite being relatively healthy for the first time in recent memory that has deep flaws and isn't a contender that was built on top of lots of bad decisions and overspending in both personnel and cap space.

Prediction: How many points will the Canucks get this season?

Assuming theres a full season and no stoppage means therell be 82 games. How many points will the Canucks get??? 2014-15 - 101 2015-16 - 75 2016-17 - 69 2017-18 - 73 2018-19 - 81 *2019-20 - 93 *2020-21 - 73 Last two seasons are pace due to covid-19 pandemic shortened seasons

hfboards.mandatory.com

 

[me2]

You're obviously are not taking into account the 8-15-2 start this season..You're lumping it all together, which is pretty dishonest.... Under Boudreau the team never had prolonged losing streaks...Every team runs into fatigue points during the long season, and incurs losses to inferior opponents. ......We've played against Vegas, and Dallas, and honestly, neither of those teams are head and shoulders above the Canucks.

Buffalo winning since the end of March (thats garbage time), is radically different than the Canucks winning at the beginning of December...and Buffalo didnt have to crawl out of a 8-15-2 hole...Unfortunately, there's a finite number of games, and the Canucks simply ran out of runway....

I dont think anybody was delusional about this roster...IF we had this , or IF we had that is utter BS..The roster as it was , was a capable bubble team (and the D was supposed to be the achilles heel..with an aged out, useless OEL, and a horrible group on RHD)..The roster wasnt the problem, the coaching obviously was...(as the statistics clearly show)....There's a reason Allvin/JR left the roster intact.



Funny how you roll out a laundry list of excuses for Vegas, or other teams ..Injuries...If it was the Canucks that ran into injuries, wouldnt it just be an excuse..?. 'but injuries...everybody has them"

I'm not as pessimistic about the previous GM's team as some here (although , again, he certainly deserved to be fired)..There's some excellent players here (unfortunately, many of the better ones were MIA in the first 1/3rd of the season)....Again though, we will have to wait to see what Allvin does in the off season.

Canucks had a less than 1% chance at the playoffs at the start of December. That's garbage time.

 

[RussianRacket]

Canucks had a less than 1% chance at the playoffs at the start of December. That's garbage time.

lol at calling 70% of the season "garbage time".

 

[tantalum]

You're obviously are not taking into account the 8-15-2 start this season..You're lumping it all together, which is pretty dishonest.... Under Boudreau the team never had prolonged losing streaks...Every team runs into fatigue points during the long season, and incurs losses to inferior opponents. ......We've played against Vegas, and Dallas, and honestly, neither of those teams are head and shoulders above the Canucks.

Buffalo winning since the end of March (thats garbage time), is radically different than the Canucks winning at the beginning of December...and Buffalo didnt have to crawl out of a 8-15-2 hole...Unfortunately, there's a finite number of games, and the Canucks simply ran out of runway....

I dont think anybody was delusional about this roster...IF we had this , or IF we had that is utter BS..The roster as it was , was a capable bubble team (and the D was supposed to be the achilles heel..with an aged out, useless OEL, and a horrible group on RHD)..The roster wasnt the problem, the coaching obviously was...(as the statistics clearly show)....There's a reason Allvin/JR left the roster intact.



Funny how you roll out a laundry list of excuses for Vegas, or other teams ..Injuries...If it was the Canucks that ran into injuries, wouldnt it just be an excuse..?. 'but injuries...everybody has them"

I'm not as pessimistic about the previous GM's team as some here (although , again, he certainly deserved to be fired)..There's some excellent players here (unfortunately, many of the better ones were MIA in the first 1/3rd of the season)....Again though, we will have to wait to see what Allvin does in the off season.

Lol I’m not taking into account the start. On the contrary you aren’t taking that into account. It doesn’t just go away because you don’t want it to. Just like the previous 6 years also don’t go away.

Under Boudreau they’ve played pretty well. They’ve also completely outperformed the underlying numbers mainly due to goaltending. Goaltending the numbers suggest aren’t normally sustainable over 82 games and over multiple years. 50 games is a decent sample size but it’s not huge. Plenty of teams play well for 40-50 games in a season whether at the beginning or the end. Not every team sustains it for 82. To me you have to be certifiable to believe this team is going to sustain a pt% that rivals the top teams in the league over 82 games moving forward. It’s just not that type of a roster.

Laundry list of excuses for Vegas? I mentioned one. They have had injuries which apparently can only ever be used by you as an excuse for the Canucks. “If they stay healthy….” But No question in my mind a healthy Vegas team is head and shoulders above a healthy Canucks team.

No shit you aren’t as pessimistic about the previous GMs team. Somehow you are even more optimistic than Aquilini who was 4 years too late in firing Benning and company. There are excellent players on every damn team in the league. You can say the same of the Senators , who 8 might remind you just beat the canucks.

Also, the Canucks have been in garbage time for months. Hence the reason the playoff odds topped at only 25% several weeks ago, It’s not a team that has seriously been in the race. It just isn’t. There is a very good reason people look at US thanksgiving as the benchmark for who is making the dance. It’s pretty much 80-85% settled at that point (essentially 7 of the current 8 playoff teams in the east were in a playoff spot. 6 in the west).

 

[tantalum]

@tantalum

Yeah, this team where it is now is pretty much where *I* personally thought it would be, give or take 2-3 points. It's a playoff bubble team. That's how I saw them stack up against other teams. The abominable start and good finish are peaks and valleys that I personally don't account for, it's encouraging, but it's like going for a drive with a beat up car and nothing goes wrong. You are surprised, happy, but you still know that you need a new car soon.

Pretty much.

There are good things to take from the year. Progression from Podz and Hughes.

Pettersson regaining form isn’t a positive but a relief. It was already assumed by most coming out of camp so not sure it’s a great thing it took 40 games for it to happen. Note…that comes down to the constant expectation everything will go the right way. Pettersson to start the year was something that actually went the other way but it’s being celebrated because he recovered his form and will have a decent but not spectacular season overall. Miller and Demko of course we’re positives.

But not everything went well..Hoglander stumbled. Boeser stumbled. A lot of good was balanced with the not so good and the same will happen next season. Perhaps Miller can’t replicate the season. Perhaps Pettersson struggles again. Maybe Podz has a sophomore season like Hoglander. Demko becomes mortal at ES.

But one of those takeaways is most definitely not “Jim built a good team”. Because he didn’t. A couple big winning streak peaks as you say and the first 25 valley. That averages out to a team that will miss the playoffs. As expected.

 

[Bertuzzzi44]

For the 1st time in a while I’m really optimistic about the future of this team. We finally have good management and good coaching. Impressed by the way this team played after the regime change, really surprised the Canucks are going to finish with over 90 points after the horrendous start they had under Green. This team is easily a 100+ point team next season and the future is bright!

 

[Javaman]

lol at calling 70% of the season "garbage time".

But that's reality.

Five months ago the Canucks were overwhelmingly unlikely to make the playoffs. Now, with 4 games to go, the Canucks are overwhelmingly unlikely to make the playoffs.

Nothing has really changed with regards to playoff chances. Why the lol?

 

[geebaan]

But that's reality.

Five months ago the Canucks were overwhelmingly unlikely to make the playoffs. Now, with 4 games to go, the Canucks are overwhelmingly unlikely to make the playoffs.

Nothing has really changed with regards to playoff chances. Why the lol?

Because the fact Benning failed us literally incomprehensible, and anything you can do to prop up his disaster tenure must be done.

 

[TruGr1t]

The problem is this team will likely be worse next year. There is not really a route, even if you desired it, to bring this same roster back. Miller is likely gone, and if he's not gone, then 2 of Horvat/Boeser/Garland/Myers are gone to account for the cap space. We will not be replacing these slots with better players, since by definition we are trying to save money.

You can hope for a miracle trade, or one of Hoglander or Podkolzin to truly breakout, but that's about it. This team will effectively probably lose at least two of its top players this off-season, and is likely to try to replace them with cheaper depth. You aren't replacing top six / top four players from our farm system, that's for sure. You also have to hope Demko can repeat his season, and not get injured.

 

[Javaman]

Because the fact Benning failed us literally incomprehensible, and anything you can do to prop up his disaster tenure must be done.

Benning's ultimate peak was to create a team that maybe, just might, go on an improbable run to squeak into the playoffs.

I have no patience for posters who refuse to acknowledge just how damaging Benning's tenure as GM has been for this franchise. The Canucks are a non-playoff team this year ... and they're likely going to take a step backwards next year. Let that sink in.

I think some posters still underestimate just how bad a GM Benning was.

 

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

But that's reality.

Five months ago the Canucks were overwhelmingly unlikely to make the playoffs. Now, with 4 games to go, the Canucks are overwhelmingly unlikely to make the playoffs.

Nothing has really changed with regards to playoff chances. Why the lol?

Technically, you’re right…but when you start the season 6-14-2 after 22 games, you would generally expect to be mathematically out in short order

Since then ..they’ve gone 32-15-9,and here we are April 21..and they are still not mathematically out.

You can look at it like the team turned a corner,and finally played to their potential..or they’re still just a ‘bad team’ that played with ‘no pressure’ …

Your call…?

 

[Javaman]

Technically, you’re right…but when you start the season 6-14-2 after 22 games, you would generally expect to be mathematically out in short order

Since then ..they’ve gone 32-15-9,and here we are April 21..and they are still not mathematically out.

You can look at it like the team turned a corner,and finally played to their potential..or they’re still just a ‘bad team’ that played with ‘no pressure’ …

Your call…?

Yeah, I find this whole "but maybe" line of commentary to be entirely unimpressive.

They were pretty much eliminated from the playoffs by the end of November. Pretending things are substantially different in April is fundamentally dishonest. Pretending there's some sort of "technical" argument against reality comes across as a needlessly desperate defense of Benning.

 

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

Yeah, I find this whole "but maybe" line of commentary to be entirely unimpressive.

They were pretty much eliminated from the playoffs by the end of November. Pretending things are substantially different in April is fundamentally dishonest. Pretending there's some sort of "technical" argument against reality comes across as a needlessly desperate defense of Benning.

Has nothing to do with Benning or his legacy..he's gone...

It was just a simple question of do you think this current roster is good or not good...A playoff team , or a wannabe.

 

[Numba9]

Technically, you’re right…but when you start the season 6-14-2 after 22 games, you would generally expect to be mathematically out in short order

Since then ..they’ve gone 32-15-9,and here we are April 21..and they are still not mathematically out.

You can look at it like the team turned a corner,and finally played to their potential..or they’re still just a ‘bad team’ that played with ‘no pressure’ …

Your call…?

Good god, downplay of the day is "no pressure". Lol. I wonder what tomorrow's will be.

 

[logan5]

Yep, Benning is long gone. The team has turned around quite nicely under the new coach and GM. I guess some people still view the team as Benning's.

There are no guarantees for next year, but we've had a very large sample size that suggests this is a pretty good team. Most of the important pieces will be back, and be even better.

 

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

Good god, downplay of the day is "no pressure". Lol. I wonder what tomorrow's will be.

Predictably, the more cynical posters here are trying to disqualify the 32-15-9 record...(the same ones who disqualified their performance in the bubble playoffs)

Overall though, there's a good number of posters (even here) that are optimistic for next year (despite the fact, we could be losing a few good players).