Are bad teams really defying expectations?

[PuckItUp27]

Who in their right mind thinks the NY Islanders are a better team than Montreal

I do along with most people in the hockey world.

Isles have had one of the hardest schedules to open the season (Canes, Ducks, Preds x 2, Sharks x 2), West coast trip, 1 game in 8 days. 3-4 is fine coming out of that hell lol...team looks pretty decent under Trotz

Can't judge anything by records after 7 games

 

[VoluntaryDom]

I do along with most people in the hockey world.

Isles have had one of the hardest schedules to open the season (Canes, Ducks, Preds x 2, Sharks x 2), West coast trip, 1 game in 8 days. 3-4 is fine coming out of that hell lol...team looks pretty decent under Trotz

Can't judge anything by records after 7 games

No like even before the season, habs were a better team

 

[PuckItUp27]

No like even before the season, habs were a better team

To you maybe...not to the majority of people. You can have an opinion...it doesn't matter right now until we get further into the season.

 

[LordNeverLose]

No like even before the season, habs were a better team

https://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/2019-stanley-cup-favourite-29.2533199/

Isles 26th, Habs 28th

 

[Frank Drebin]

What's surprising is how bad people actually think NHL calibre teams will be.

As has been said, parity is a hell of a thing.

You likely won't see expansion type seasons from the 90s ever again. Look at Vegas last year.

That still doesn't mean that any of those early teams could finish at the bottom in the end.

It's fun to see some interesting storylines right from the beginning of the season though.

Except Colorado from a couple years ago

 

[Frank Drebin]

https://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/2019-stanley-cup-favourite-29.2533199/

Isles 26th, Habs 28th

Dallas perenially overrated

 

[VoluntaryDom]

https://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/2019-stanley-cup-favourite-29.2533199/

Isles 26th, Habs 28th

How on earth did Habs fall so far? Should have been like 20th

 

[LordNeverLose]

How on earth did Habs fall so far? Should have been like 20th

Based on?

 

[EveryDay]

How on earth did Habs fall so far? Should have been like 20th

Are you new on this site? MTL are aways underrated on this site even when they were winning division in the last few years. They won our division 3 times in the last 6 years and everytime at the start of the season they were suppose to battle for a playoff spot.

 

[Iapyi]

As a fan from Montreal, I hope the Canadiens return to crap form. They need to stock pile draft picks like all the other clubs that gamed the system over the last couple decades.

I hope they follow the Fail for Nail idiot program too.

 

[Quicklime]

Hard one.

I’d take Barzal over the rest, but there could be more offensive talent spread throughout the Habs top-6.

Hard to say, but harder to deny Barzal...

 

[VoluntaryDom]

Based on?

Having a good roster

 

[MtlBoxFan]

I hope they follow the Fail for Nail idiot program too.

It doesn't have to be that bad. They can pick up a couple more Kotkaniemis and I'd be fine.

 

[GAGLine]

Having a good roster

Montreal finished 28th overall last year. They traded Galchenyuk for Domi and Pacioretty for Tatar, neither of which was considered to be an upgrade. Add to that the Weber injury, and it's no surprise why people picked them to be bad.

 

[Bedards Dad]

https://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/2019-stanley-cup-favourite-29.2533199/

Isles 26th, Habs 28th

They are both garbage this year. MTL is playing well above their heads right now.

 

[Blowfish]

So many predictions to start the year however until the young prospects and vying vets step in to the fold nothing is for certain for how teams will succeed.

One or 2 injuries to key players, bad coaching, lack of team chemistry, poor organizational depth, and players exceeding expectations all factor into how teams will progress.

So many had the leafs winning the cup....in my opinion it's a 31 team coin toss. Which is a good thing.

 

[Cellee]

It has been 3 weeks.

 

[Iapyi]

Montreal finished 28th overall last year. They traded Galchenyuk for Domi and Pacioretty for Tatar, neither of which was considered to be an upgrade. Add to that the Weber injury, and it's no surprise why people picked them to be bad.

Most experienced hockey people would have considered Domi an upgrade over Galchenyuk.

 

[GAGLine]

Most experienced hockey people would have considered Domi an upgrade over Galchenyuk.

I guess Chayka isn't one of those, since he traded Domi for Gally. Would those experienced hockey people have considered Tatar an upgrade over Pacioretty?

Regardless, not even experienced hockey people would have expected the Habs to be significantly better than they were last year based on those 2 deals.

 

[abo9]

https://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/2019-stanley-cup-favourite-29.2533199/

Isles 26th, Habs 28th

The parity is so strong that one of Habs , Isles, Sabres, etc (maybe even 2) could finish 20th or even a bit higher lol

 

[abo9]

I was not suggesting that these teams would finish 1st or in the top 10 of the league, I know they will come back down to Earth sometimes around December/January, but I am just confused as it seems like almost 10 teams can be tagged for bottom 3 lol

Which with parity is not very surprising but then its more of a bottom 10... the 3 worst teams would be the teams with worst puck luck and the best 3 have the better puck luck of the bad teams.

 

[Iapyi]

I guess Chayka isn't one of those, since he traded Domi for Gally. Would those experienced hockey people have considered Tatar an upgrade over Pacioretty?

Regardless, not even experienced hockey people would have expected the Habs to be significantly better than they were last year based on those 2 deals.

1. You miss the word "most" in my first post?

2. You would have to ask them. I don't.

 

[ole ole]

So lately there have been a few threads about teams that look pretty bad on paper (montreal, ottawa for example) that play better than they look.

I thought about this and is it really surprising? The NHL is a league with a lot of parity, so any team is able to beat any other one on a given night. I'd say it is even more true for the top half, then the second half of the standings.

I'll take the East as an example (sorry I don't have much exposure to the Western teams), but I think we can even divide the Conference in 3

Tier 1: Tampa, Pittsburgh, Boston, Toronto, Washington are clearly the top teams with multiple star/elite players on them,

Tier 2: Philadelphia Columbus, Carolina, New Jersey, Florida, New york Islanders are bubble teams that can surprise in both a good or a bad way.

Tier 3: Buffalo, Montreal, Ottawa, New York Rangers, Detroit were pretty much penciled for bottom 3 of the league before the season.

Now, we know how big the parity is in the league, teams in tier 3 are able to compete to a certain level with teams from tier 1 during the regular season and teams from tier 3 compete with teams from tier 2(on paper though, they look pretty worst).

If we think about it, it would not be so surprising to see a team from tier 3 (maybe even 2 teams) to squeeze a spot in the playoffs, or be in the playoff race until the end.

I wonder then, can we call it a "surprise" if tier 3 teams do "better than expected"? They can't do below expectations, and one of these teams will finish AT LEAST 12th, if not higher.

See what a lot of people get fooled by is Hockey isn't played on paper. Vegas proved that last season.

 

[CHaracter79]

I guess Chayka isn't one of those, since he traded Domi for Gally. Would those experienced hockey people have considered Tatar an upgrade over Pacioretty?

Regardless, not even experienced hockey people would have expected the Habs to be significantly better than they were last year based on those 2 deals.

The idea isnt who had a better career or who will be better at whatever point.. the idea on improvement is simple.

Will Tatar and Domi be better then last years Galchenyuk and Last years pacioretty. this is all that matters... i mean for improvements sake.

Can Carey price return to being close to the .920 career sv % he has had or will he be liek last years .899

Can Mete and Juulsen improve on their rookie campaigns and stabalize the middle 6 of that D.

Can Drouin be better then last years Drouin.

Will Weber play more then 24 games this season and if yes, can he sustain his 50pt pace that he had last year on one leg.

I mean.. its not CRAZY to think that players will improve from their horrendous season last year. and by adding youth especially high end youth like the 3rd OA... i mean its not crazy for people to think the habs might be better then the isalnders.. who lost their franchise player for zero return.. and werent that far apart last year.

The habs work hard and can outskate most teams. they dont have the top end talent to have off nights an win like top tier teams do.

Im sure the habs will slow down... i dont think theyll make the playoffs... and theyll m ost likely be a bottom 10 team... but it wouldnt surprise me in the least if they actually compete very soon. very good prospect pool.. 2nd youngest team in the league and most likely the youngest after this season with plek and benn prob not returning.