2017-18 Around the League | Congratulations Washington Capitals!

[Paralyzer]

I'm salty as all heck. But the league isn't rigged. This is just some weird once in a lifetime type wizardry where the Knights somehow managed to find the perfect mix of players, management and coaching to go on this incredible run. It'll never happen again. In fact, I'd double down now and say that with the exact same expansion rules Seattle will be a garbage team.

I hope so. Just feels rigged to me.

 

[Seachd]

I hope so. Just feels rigged to me.

How can it be rigged when Vegas took 30 rejects and turned them into an actual team that performed on the ice?

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

How can it be rigged when Vegas took 30 rejects and turned them into an actual team that performed on the ice?

Having competent management and coaching is so foreign around these parts.

 

[Mcnotloilersfan]

How can it be rigged when Vegas took 30 rejects and turned them into an actual team that performed on the ice?

I don't get the "rejects argument". Vegas got to choose the 9th best player from a lot of teams. The salary cap forced even better players into their hands

 

[Spawn]

I hope so. Just feels rigged to me.

Nah. Just incredibly timely goal scoring and a goalie rocking a near .950 sv% through the playoffs so far.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Nah. Just incredibly timely goal scoring and a goalie rocking a near .950 sv% through the playoffs so far.

Fleury has 3 rings, nothing he hasn’t done before.

 

[Seachd]

I don't get the "rejects argument". Vegas got to choose the 9th best player from a lot of teams.

They did?

Maybe we’re looking at different expansion drafts.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

They did?

Imagine the Oilers 9th best player was Reinhart....

 

[Mcnotloilersfan]

They did?

Maybe we’re looking at different expansion drafts.

I'm looking at the one where some teams protected 4F and 4D

 

[Spawn]

Fleury has 3 rings, nothing he hasn’t done before.

Only one as a starter and it came 10 years ago.

Before this season he had a .908 career sv% in the playoffs with 115GP. He earned reputation as a playoff choker over this past decade with plenty of horrendous playoff performances. His regular season numbers weren't much better at a career .912 sv%.

Lets not pretend like him putting up a .947sv% in the playoffs is somehow the norm . His season this year, regular season and playoffs, blows anything he's ever done out of the water. 33 year old goalie with a career year far beyond anything he's ever proven capable of. Just like the majority of the Vegas roster.

 

[oobga]

Only one as a starter and it came 10 years ago.

Before this season he had a .908 career sv% in the playoffs with 115GP. He earned reputation as a playoff choker over this past decade with plenty of horrendous playoff performances. His regular season numbers weren't much better at a career .912 sv%.

Lets not pretend like him putting up a .947sv% in the playoffs is somehow the norm . His season this year, regular season and playoffs, blows anything he's ever done out of the water. 33 year old goalie with a career year far beyond anything he's ever proven capable of. Just like the majority of the Vegas roster.

He saw a sports psychologist and he said recently that his teammates never fully supported him before now. This is prime Fleury with the powers of positive thinking and teammate support

 

[Cloned]

You know, I was kind of ambivalent towards the GKs before, but now that they’ve had all this undeserved success so quickly I hope they sign all their RFAs who had career years to long term crippling contracts and crash hard next season.

 

[Spawn]

He saw a sports psychologist and he said recently that his teammates never fully supported him before now. This is prime Fleury with the powers of positive thinking and teammate support

Hey whatever he did clearly worked this year. Just saying, it would be dishonest to suggest this level of play is nothing new for fleury. This is one of the best goaltending performances ever in a playoffs. He’s almost set himself up for a conn smythe regardless of Vegas winning or not.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

I don’t get how people can say they bought a Stanley Cup or this was rigged. Not a single person believed they had much more than a marginally competitive team with this roster. Not even their coach or GM, over their quotes today, not their owner who just hoped they wouldn’t be blown out.

 

[Paralyzer]

How can it be rigged when Vegas took 30 rejects and turned them into an actual team that performed on the ice?

Not saying it is rigged. I'm saying the fact the NHL wanted Vegas to succeed so Bettman can say one of his expansion teams is a success hit and doing it in its first year just seems unbelieveable. But like I said earlier, they deserve credit for where they are today. Not gonna say they don't deserve it as a team.

 

[booyakasha]

Winnipeg has twice the team Edmonton has and lost in 5, in what world would the Oilers not get wiped.

the real world.
Where the Oilers SMOKED them 8 - 2 one game and beat them 3 out 4 games in the season series.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

the real world.
Where the Oilers SMOKED them 8 - 2 one game and beat them 3 out 4 games in the season series.

Remember when they used their fourth string goalie against us?

Good times.

The Oilers would be run over by the freight train that is the Golden Knights especially whenever McDavid isn’t on the ice.

Hey we smoked Tampa once too, I bet we could take them.

 

[booyakasha]

Remember when they used their fourth string goalie against us?

Good times.

The Oilers would be run over by the freight train that is the Golden Knights especially whenever McDavid isn’t on the ice.

Hey we smoked Tampa once too, I bet we could take them.

but they didn't, the goldnen nights got run over by the freight train that is the Edmonton Oilers, and like also stated, it wasn't a one off, they took the season series, so quit acting the fool.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

but they didn't, the goldnen nights got run over by the freight train that is the Edmonton Oilers, and like also stated, it wasn't a one off, they took the season series, so quit acting the fool.

So what? We took the season series from Anaheim last year and that didn’t amount to a series win. The regular season means zippo. They had Fleury in net for one of those wins?

Remember when the Devils swept the Lightning during the regular season and people thought they might be a problem?

 

[frag2]

With GK winning, it means they should be able to attract a sustainable fan base and thus, increased revenue which in turn means increased salary cap...or am I wrong with this line of thinking?

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

With GK winning, it means they should be able to attract a sustainable fan base and thus, increased revenue which in turn means increased salary cap...or am I wrong with this line of thinking?

You are 100% correct. Now if only Arizona, Carolina, Florida and Ottawa would get their collective shit together.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

I don't get the "rejects argument". Vegas got to choose the 9th best player from a lot of teams. The salary cap forced even better players into their hands

The only players of note they received at the time were Neal and Fleury. Most of the players selected were below 10 on teams depth chart or lower.

This was a master class of expansion draft manipulation and dumb decisions by several GMs who didn't realize what they already had.

They got a 2nd round pick to take Fleury and not Murray.
Florida gave them Marsch. to take Smith off their hands.
Minnesota gave them Tuch and Vegas selected Haula so they stayed away from their D.
Columbus gave them a 1st round pick if they took Clarksons contract, and they left Karlsson unprotected.
St Louis protected Reaves so they could trade him to Pittsburgh for a 1st, and thus Perron was left exposed.
Pittsburgh later traded Reaves to Vegas so Vegas could block Winnipeg from trading for Brassard.
They picked Subban off waivers from Boston.
They hired Floridas coaching staff who were let go mid season by an analytics crazed owner looking to become the Oakland A's of MoneyBall fame.

The players have come together out of a terrible tragedy, and Fleury is thus far having a playoffs that will be among the greatest playoff performances of all time. The team got out in front of the speed curve and plays a full court pressure game that is built on speed. They have a no name defence playing within their capabilities. One other thing that cannot be understated and has been mentioned in interviews by McPhee. They have no serious cap disparities to deal with and no egos in that locker room. They have hit lightning in a bottle with how the players have meshed and how Gallant coaches them. McPhee should win GM of All Time and Gallant has performed nothing short of a miracle with how he has brought this team together.

Anyone saying they were gifted a team denies McPhee and Gallant the credit they deserve for the jobs they have done, and is talking out of their ass out of pure jealousy.

I would have rather seen Winnipeg win the Cup but now I want to see Vegas win and some bookies who sold 500-1 odds tickets take a bath.

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

Its that timeline where in in the year we signed the best player in the league to a massive long term deal the team with the worst players in the league wins the cup.

 

[CycloneSweep]

but they didn't, the goldnen nights got run over by the freight train that is the Edmonton Oilers, and like also stated, it wasn't a one off, they took the season series, so quit acting the fool.

If the Oilers were so good then why were we so damn far from a playoff spot. Or do you not remember we were out of a spot starting game 3 of the season?

Or that Vegas in what all but 1 game against us was using their 3rd/4th string goalie?

Vegas, like most teams would trash us in a best of 7. Winnipeg, Nashville and Vegas are so far ahead of us in ability, coaching and team play that we might as well be starting a rebuild to them. And that's with McDavid.

 

[Cloned]

The whole LL situation in Toronto and "going to be POHO of the NYI" and now talking to Tavares "representing" the Islanders is just weird. Seems like something the Oilers would be involved in.