GDT: '19-'20 STANLEY CUP THREAD

[Ghost of Ethan Hunt]

July 10th training camp start date & late July/early August Playoffs start confirmed by the league.

NHL training camps for Stanley Cup Qualifiers to open July 10

So much to discuss, so many story lines...

EAST
Return to Play: Eastern Conference

My picks for preliminaries: Isles, Caners, Pens, Leafs.

I wanna see the Isles & Rangers win their play-ins regardless, but I think Canes D is too deep & ends up winning, though Lundquist/Geo/Shesterkin could be the story of that series. FLA & Bob could rebound & salvage his year. Isles in 4, Canes in 5.

I wanna see the Habs win (but not at the expense of ensuring the Pens have a lottery shot), but also because I loathe PITT. However I believe Pens will win in 5 & have no shot at the lottery. Leafs over CBJ in 5.

1.TBL 2. BOS 3.PHI 4.WSH

WEST
Return to Play: Western Conference

My picks for preliminaries: EDM in 5, NSH in 5, VAN in 5, WPG in5. the WPG/CGY series should be great.

1.STL 2.COL 3.VGK 4.DAL

Assuming relatively good health for both teams, TBL over STL in 7 for the CUP.

NHL ranks the Top 16 G's:

Click to read more...

 

[Ghost of Ethan Hunt]

NHL unveils schedule for first 10 days of Stanley Cup Qualifiers - Sportsnet.ca

Excerpt:

"
Here’s a sampling of how it might look (** – denotes tentative date):
• July 13: Training camps open
• July 26: Teams travel to hub cities
• July 28-30: Exhibition games
• Aug. 1: Stanley Cup Qualifiers begin
• **Aug. 10: Phase 2 of NHL draft lottery
• Aug. 11: Round 1 begins
• **Aug. 25: Round 2 begins
• **Sept. 8: Conference finals begin
• **Later of Sept. 25 or beginning of Stanley Cup Final: First Buy-Out Period begins
• **Sept. 22 — Stanley Cup Final begins
• **Oct. 4: Last possible day of Stanley Cup Final
• **Later of Oct. 8 or Stanley Cup Final plus six days: First Buy-Out Period ends
• **Oct. 9-10: 2020 NHL Draft
• **Later of Oct. 9 or Stanley Cup Final plus seven days: RFA/UFA Signing Period begins
• **Nov. 17: Training camps open (14 days)
•**Dec. 1: 2020-21 regular season begins"

Johnson & Rupp weigh in

 

[GMR]

League needs to be smart and cancel the season.

Playing glorified scrimmages in empty stadiums and calling it the playoffs / Finals, doesn't make it so. No playoff atmosphere, no crowd, no home/road momentum swings, etc. It's a big joke. Season ended 4 1/2 months before these games are happening. Not to mention, the risk of transmitting the virus. As soon as the players hit the ice for these scrimmages, they'll realize what a big mistake this is.

It will be even worse in the NBA playoffs, as the crowd is closer to the playing surface. They'll have it even worse.

 

[TheMule93]

League needs to be smart and cancel the season.

Playing glorified scrimmages in empty stadiums and calling it the playoffs / Finals, doesn't make it so. No playoff atmosphere, no crowd, no home/road momentum swings, etc. It's a big joke. Season ended 4 1/2 months before these games are happening. Not to mention, the risk of transmitting the virus. As soon as the players hit the ice for these scrimmages, they'll realize what a big mistake this is.

It will be even worse in the NBA playoffs, as the crowd is closer to the playing surface. They'll have it even worse.

dont watch it if you dont like it

i'm ecstatic we may yet get more hockey

 

[Ghost of Ethan Hunt]

I'm just happy we get some hockey again (minus 12 reg. season games). It'll be a bizarro world scenario w/o fans etc., but at least there'll be a Cup awarded, so it's not a total loss.

The draft format is where they really screwed up.

 

[13to40]

League needs to be smart and cancel the season.

Playing glorified scrimmages in empty stadiums and calling it the playoffs / Finals, doesn't make it so. No playoff atmosphere, no crowd, no home/road momentum swings, etc. It's a big joke. Season ended 4 1/2 months before these games are happening. Not to mention, the risk of transmitting the virus. As soon as the players hit the ice for these scrimmages, they'll realize what a big mistake this is.

It will be even worse in the NBA playoffs, as the crowd is closer to the playing surface. They'll have it even worse.

Call it whatever you want, but these “glorified scrimmages” will determine who is this year’s cup champs. Also, it’ll probably be one of the most exciting playoffs since nobody is knowing what to expect. Imagine a team like Montreal or Chicago winning the cup!?!

 

[GMR]

Call it whatever you want, but these “glorified scrimmages” will determine who is this year’s cup champs. Also, it’ll probably be one of the most exciting playoffs since nobody is knowing what to expect. Imagine a team like Montreal or Chicago winning the cup!?!

No. This season is over. In reality, this is a playoff not tied to the prior season. You can't just resume the season 4 1/2 months later and still call it the 2020 season. You can call a dog a cat also. Doesn't make it so.

 

[GMR]

dont watch it if you dont like it

i'm ecstatic we may yet get more hockey

You'll know I'm right when the games begin.

 

[Retire91]

I think its good to get the season going if they feel they can do it safely. It gives the fans something to talk about and gives the players a way to compete and stay in game shape.

I just hope they are being serious and testing people. Say if Marner has a temperature before game 7 are they really going to sit him? I hope the testing is done by an objective 3rd party.

 

[jfrank21]

The series are best of five so you might want to adjust your predictions, haha. Im excited for these, crowds or no crowds. They can always pump in noise.

 

[Ezekial]

No. This season is over. In reality, this is a playoff not tied to the prior season. You can't just resume the season 4 1/2 months later and still call it the 2020 season. You can call a dog a cat also. Doesn't make it so.

Except the 2020 NHL Playoffs are going to be called the 2020 NHL Playoffs.

What a ridiculously stupid point.

 

[Bench]

NHL ranks the Top 16 G's:
View attachment 350227

5 of the top 10 goalies are first round draft picks. Two of those are the last two goalies taken in the top 5.

Just saying.

 

[GMR]

Except the 2020 NHL Playoffs are going to be called the 2020 NHL Playoffs.

What a ridiculously stupid point.

Only if the reader is stupid. It's a good point. The playoffs starting this long after the season ended in mid-March is hardly a continuation of the same season.

To me this is a stand-alone tournament that will always have a huge asterisk next to the winner. Rightfully so.

 

[Ezekial]

Only if the reader is stupid. It's a good point. The playoffs starting this long after the season ended in mid-March is hardly a continuation of the same season.

NHL Hockey is still NHL hockey, and although there was a break they will be coming back to play NHL hockey and call it the 2020 NHL playoffs.

A dog is never cat.

Dumb.

 

[GMR]

NHL Hockey is still NHL hockey, and although there was a break they will be coming bank to play NHL hockey and call it the 2020 NHL playoffs.

A dog is never cat.

Dumb.

You're missing the point. This will not really be a continuation of the shortened season. Too much time has elapsed. It's a stand-alone gimmick tournament.

What do we typically associate with the NHL playoffs? An exciting atmosphere. Lower seeded teams have basically been playing playoff hockey for weeks leading up the playoffs. Higher seeded teams are on a roll and look like powerhouses. Quest for the Cup. Physical play. Bad blood. More intense play than the regular season.

Instead, we'll have a blank slate. You'll have players who have been sitting at home for months. Short training camp. Chemistry is off due to the long break. Will intensity be the same? Guys won't be in the same shape. Momentum doesn't exist for any team going into this tournament.

Call it whatever you want but the winner will have an asterisk next to their name. You can't just recreate the NHL playoffs like this.

 

[Winger98]

Yeah, while I'm (sorta) looking forward to the playoffs, I also don't really view it the same as a normal season. Part of winning the cup is surviving the adversity of the 82 game regular season, and being able to grind it out. This sort of break doesn't take away from the points teams accumulate, but it does lessen the importance of surviving the season and the wear/tear that goes with it. Really, I'm more excited for the draft and next season to just start at this point.

 

[Ezekial]

Call it whatever you want but the winner will have an asterisk next to their name. You can't just recreate the NHL playoffs like this.

Whatever dude, have fun with your asterisks and parameters that you define as absolute.

I don't care about semantics arguments I'm going to watch and enjoy hockey and say congrats to the winner of the Cup. Such a petty thing to get so riled up about imo.

 

[GMR]

Whatever dude, have fun with your asterisks and parameters that you define as absolute.

Great argument. You have fun watching this "NHL playoffs"

 

[Ezekial]

Great argument. You have fun watching this "NHL playoffs"

Have fun complaining on the internet to strangers about the integrity of a sports competition. I'm sure I'll have a lot more fun than you

 

[GMR]

Have fun complaining on the internet to strangers about the integrity of a sports competition.

That's what internet forums are for actually. Discussion and argument. You haven't made any.

 

[Ezekial]

That's what internet forums are for actually. Discussion and argument. You haven't made any.

I wasn't arguing anything, just said comparing this version of NHL Playoffs to usual versions of NHL playoffs to the difference of cats and dogs is stupid.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

You're missing the point. This will not really be a continuation of the shortened season. Too much time has elapsed. It's a stand-alone gimmick tournament.

What do we typically associate with the NHL playoffs? An exciting atmosphere. Lower seeded teams have basically been playing playoff hockey for weeks leading up the playoffs. Higher seeded teams are on a roll and look like powerhouses. Quest for the Cup. Physical play. Bad blood. More intense play than the regular season.

Instead, we'll have a blank slate. You'll have players who have been sitting at home for months. Short training camp. Chemistry is off due to the long break. Will intensity be the same? Guys won't be in the same shape. Momentum doesn't exist for any team going into this tournament.

Call it whatever you want but the winner will have an asterisk next to their name. You can't just recreate the NHL playoffs like this.

I'm excited to have hockey back in some form, but yeah, I have to agree with you. I feel like the teams that make it deep in this playoffs will be the ones with the fewest groin pulls and coronavirus cases.

This playoffs have about as much to do with the real Stanley Cup playoffs as the shootout has to do with actual hockey.

 

[Ghost of Ethan Hunt]

The series are best of five so you might want to adjust your predictions, haha. Im excited for these, crowds or no crowds. They can always pump in noise.

Just keeping peeples on their toes...Gold sticker for you.

Official title now has " ", making it the asterisk cup.

 

[Bench]

Yeah, while I'm (sorta) looking forward to the playoffs, I also don't really view it the same as a normal season. Part of winning the cup is surviving the adversity of the 82 game regular season, and being able to grind it out. This sort of break doesn't take away from the points teams accumulate, but it does lessen the importance of surviving the season and the wear/tear that goes with it. Really, I'm more excited for the draft and next season to just start at this point.

On top of this, if they decide to continue no matter what, we'll probably see teams lose players due to illness and that could really determine how things shake out.

The winner this year might be the the team that's best at social distancing, hand washing, and wearing a mask.

 

[Winger98]

On top of this, if they decide to continue no matter what, we'll probably see teams lose players due to illness and that could really determine how things shake out.

The winner this year might be the the team that's best at social distancing, hand washing, and wearing a mask.

Or the one whose players find a way around the testing. When it's all said and done, and something leaks about this or that player playing while having C19, I wouldn't be surprised and it would just get chalked off as inaccurate testing.