NHL Around the NHL 2018-19 IX

[Chief Nine]

I guess odds are one way of doing it... I think the odds from 2017-18 had Edmonton as favorites?

another way of doing it is how the local team is marketing itself to its ticket buyers and media sponsors. several media talking heads were making Columbus their preseason pick. the team had a 2 time vezina goalie... a top 4 defense that is the envy of most teams... and expected to have a lot of offense

that and a 'win now' coach not known for prospect development

Columbus knew from day 1 they had the ufa… if they intended to play it safe they should have traded these guys in the offseason like boston did with lucic. their selljob to their fans was that they were real contenders and were 'all-in' from day 1

Even without odds and oddsmakers, I don't think anyone considered Columbus to be a Cup contender at the beginning of the season. Good solid team, likely a playoff team? Yes. But I doubt anyone was saying they were a contender before the season started. Even after the moves they made at the deadline I don't think many still looked at them as a potential Cup winner

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

Even without odds and oddsmakers, I don't think anyone considered Columbus to be a Cup contender at the beginning of the season. Good solid team, likely a playoff team? Yes. But I doubt anyone was saying they were a contender before the season started. Even after the moves they made at the deadline I don't think many still looked at them as a potential Cup winner

just Monday im listening to a show out of Toronto... was it hockey central? leafs lunch? the guy said his picks in preseason were Columbus and Nashville. hes sticking with them now.

it doesnt mean that everyone was picking them as cup favorites. a few weeks back on the edmonon radio heard another 'insider' talking about the deadline... also said Columbus was his pick too

certainly in Columbus they picked themselves. their braintrust was planning to contend from day 1

team feels it should have beat Washington last year... got up 2-0 in that series over the eventual cup champs.

anyhow... theres always at least 10 teams by this time of year where the fans are betting their team has a chance. thats what you get when the league promotes parity

 

[Chief Nine]

just Monday im listening to a show out of Toronto... was it hockey central? leafs lunch? the guy said his picks in preseason were Columbus and Nashville. hes sticking with them now.

it doesnt mean that everyone was picking them as cup favorites. a few weeks back on the edmonon radio heard another 'insider' talking about the deadline... also said Columbus was his pick too

certainly in Columbus they picked themselves. their braintrust was planning to contend from day 1

team feels it should have beat Washington last year... got up 2-0 in that series over the eventual cup champs.

anyhow... theres always at least 10 teams by this time of year where the fans are betting their team has a chance. thats what you get when the league promotes parity

That's fine. I just think that generally "Columbus was a cup favorite from the moment the season started" wasn't a consensus opinion

 

[mikelvl]

If the season ended today, and the playoff format was 1-8 etc., the Bruins would line up with Carolina and Washington. While Tampa is certainly a whole 'nother level this year, ultimate wagon, I'm thinking that Carolina might be a tougher out than Toronto at this point. And Washington would be just as difficult for the B's as Tampa. So maybe the playoff format isn't as big a deal this year. But I'd still prefer 1-8 etc.

 

[nazartp]

If the season ended today, and the playoff format was 1-8 etc., the Bruins would line up with Carolina and Washington. While Tampa is certainly a whole 'nother level this year, ultimate wagon, I'm thinking that Carolina might be a tougher out than Toronto at this point. And Washington would be just as difficult for the B's as Tampa. So maybe the playoff format isn't as big a deal this year. But I'd still prefer 1-8 etc.

You'd never guess after reading Toronto's GDT after beating the Sabres. But honestly, from the point of view of the "ease" of the round one, I wouldn't want Carolina. They are having an excellent second half of the season, while Leafs are trudging along. Unfortunately, Leafs do not play any decent teams until the very end, when some of those will be resting their players. IMHO, we are not a lock for the home ice quite yet. I'd be much more confident if the B's beat TB on Monday.

 

[GloryDaze4877]

If the season ended today, and the playoff format was 1-8 etc., the Bruins would line up with Carolina and Washington. While Tampa is certainly a whole 'nother level this year, ultimate wagon, I'm thinking that Carolina might be a tougher out than Toronto at this point. And Washington would be just as difficult for the B's as Tampa. So maybe the playoff format isn't as big a deal this year. But I'd still prefer 1-8 etc.

My objection to the format isn’t based on specific matchups or just the Bruins. It’s more about rewarding teams for their regular season success. There are years where the 1-8 format might not do that, but it seems that it would be more fair year in and year out than the current format?

 

[easton117]

My objection to the format isn’t based on specific matchups or just the Bruins. It’s more about rewarding teams for their regular season success. There are years where the 1-8 format might not do that, but it seems that it would be more fair year in and year out than the current format?

This.

Although I’m all for going to the 4 divisions in each conference once Seattle shows up. Top 2 in each goes on to the playoffs. Go to seeding after that like the nfl does.

If the league wants to promote rivalries that’s how it is done. Makes them more regional focused and turns each division in to a dog fight if you balance the sched properly. It might make a Buffalo Detroit game mid February worth watching too which can’t hurt.

Sure some will be more uneven than others, you can’t fix that. But at least it would make some sense playoff wise.

 

[ODAAT]

just Monday im listening to a show out of Toronto... was it hockey central? leafs lunch? the guy said his picks in preseason were Columbus and Nashville. hes sticking with them now.

it doesnt mean that everyone was picking them as cup favorites. a few weeks back on the edmonon radio heard another 'insider' talking about the deadline... also said Columbus was his pick too

certainly in Columbus they picked themselves. their braintrust was planning to contend from day 1

team feels it should have beat Washington last year... got up 2-0 in that series over the eventual cup champs.

anyhow... theres always at least 10 teams by this time of year where the fans are betting their team has a chance. thats what you get when the league promotes parity

Jeff Marek I believe friend, watched it too

 

[ODAAT]

My objection to the format isn’t based on specific matchups or just the Bruins. It’s more about rewarding teams for their regular season success. There are years where the 1-8 format might not do that, but it seems that it would be more fair year in and year out than the current format?

the format drives me nuts, I`m equally as disgusted at seeing a team with less points ahead of one with more as I am with deciding an NHL game with a skills competition via shootout

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

That's fine. I just think that generally "Columbus was a cup favorite from the moment the season started" wasn't a consensus opinion

on that we would agree... I would say the same could be said about us... about Calgary... and maybe 24-25 other teams too. there can never be too many concensus cup favorites in any offseason. who would the consensus have agreed on this past summer?

I think Nashville and Winnipeg from that side... would vegas or san jose also make the list?
and here... got to be tampa, Washington, and I guess Toronto? would Pittsburgh still qualify?

I wouldnt myself personally put Columbus in this same group start of year... I would personally put boston there but I doubt the concensus would.

there certainly are other teams that went 'all in' that I leave off my list though... even Edmonton was trying to go 'all in.' st louis seem did. a lot of people were circling st louis like vultures with all sorts of heavy rumors that schenn or Tarasenko might be traded... but they were always all-in. their gm was looking for ways to contend... not rebuild.

I wouldnt necessarily say I agree with the moves teams like Columbus/stlouis made this year and my own prediction is they wont be successful... but the moves they made were the same ones I predicted they would "not same players involved... but going all-in"

I think a lot of that trade specualation was created because theres two 24 hour sports channals here in Canada dedicated to hockey and they need something to fill shows with. theres way way way way way more trade rumors these days then there was before sports net went into competition with tsn for viewers

 

[s3antana5757]

the format drives me nuts, I`m equally as disgusted at seeing a team with less points ahead of one with more as I am with deciding an NHL game with a skills competition via shootout

The whole thing is a disaster and it doesn’t get enough attention. Beating a team 10-0 is the exact same as beating a team 1-0 in overtime or a shootout. You could literally not have a shot on goal until the last shot and have the same amount of points.

Until someone does something drastic though, it’s never going to change. The most comical thing about it to me is that you could stuff 6 guys into the net, never give up a goal in regulation, win 20 of the 82 overtime games and be a 102 point team and be guaranteed to make the playoffs.

Having these forced “rivalries” is just that, the NHL trying to force viewership.

 

[Grimey]

I agree with you about Columbus, but Tavares and the Isles don’t fit into this category at all. The Islanders were not a playoff team last year, or fighting for a spot. Trading Tavares was absolutely the thing they should have done in order to gain some assets going forward (like OTT did this year with Stone, Duchene, Dzingel).

The reason that they didn’t trade him was because he said he wanted to stay and re-sign with the team before the deadline. Their FO obviously took him at his word and held onto him with the hopes of signing Tavares to a long term deal. This is also why the Isle’s fans are so ticked at him.

Totally agree. Tavares could've requested a trade or just not have bothered telling them he wanted to stay and there'd be a lot less salt in the wounds of Isles fans. All I can say is I thoroughly enjoyed the 6-1 beating the Isles handed him with their new captain scoring the winner.

On a side note, Sean Avery can just shut the f*** up about that whole heckling Tavares situation. That Calvin Klein wannabe would be the first one to make some controversial statement if one of his former captains bailed on his team. No one cares what that hack has to say.

 

[RoccoF14]

Even without odds and oddsmakers, I don't think anyone considered Columbus to be a Cup contender at the beginning of the season. Good solid team, likely a playoff team? Yes. But I doubt anyone was saying they were a contender before the season started. Even after the moves they made at the deadline I don't think many still looked at them as a potential Cup winner

Was anyone saying that Washington was a contender at the start of last year? Or Vegas?

Hell, nobody thought Vegas was a Cup contender until they actually won the Western Conference.

 

[RoccoF14]

If the season ended today, and the playoff format was 1-8 etc., the Bruins would line up with Carolina and Washington. While Tampa is certainly a whole 'nother level this year, ultimate wagon, I'm thinking that Carolina might be a tougher out than Toronto at this point. And Washington would be just as difficult for the B's as Tampa. So maybe the playoff format isn't as big a deal this year. But I'd still prefer 1-8 etc.

I agree. I don't like the format as its currently set up, but at the end of the day I'm not losing sleep over it. The format is what it is and every team is subjected to it equally. If you get a season where the top teams skew to one particular division, so be it. You still got to grind your way through 4 series against quality opponents to win. That's what makes the NHL playoffs the best in major sports.

 

[Chief Nine]

Was anyone saying that Washington was a contender at the start of last year? Or Vegas?

Hell, nobody thought Vegas was a Cup contender until they actually won the Western Conference.

Washington was:

Odds to win the 2018 Stanley Cup

Vegas, hell no. They were 200-1

 

[Bruinaura]

 

[BruinDust]

The whole thing is a disaster and it doesn’t get enough attention. Beating a team 10-0 is the exact same as beating a team 1-0 in overtime or a shootout. You could literally not have a shot on goal until the last shot and have the same amount of points.

Until someone does something drastic though, it’s never going to change. The most comical thing about it to me is that you could stuff 6 guys into the net, never give up a goal in regulation, win 20 of the 82 overtime games and be a 102 point team and be guaranteed to make the playoffs.

Having these forced “rivalries” is just that, the NHL trying to force viewership.

Forced Viewership? Oh you mean a business running it's business in such a way as to generate more interest/ratings and thus more revenue?

 

[s3antana5757]

Forced Viewership? Oh you mean a business running it's business in such a way as to generate more interest/ratings and thus more revenue?

Do you actually believe it’s increasing viewership? I doubt there’s solid numbers, but I would be surprised if there’s any sort of uptick in playoff viewership based on the new divisional format.

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

Do you actually believe it’s increasing viewership? I doubt there’s solid numbers, but I would be surprised if there’s any sort of uptick in playoff viewership based on the new divisional format.

theres many teams that have a problem selling tickets... one reason the season starts late is to avoid football season. thats how bad things are. these markets are important for the future but they are still a hard sell today

other sports are very rivalry based. college sports for example... they go nuts when their top rival comes to town. most sports are very rival based. tickets scalped for redsox/yankee games go much higher than redsox/ranger or redsox/bluejay games. rivalries mean $$$$$$

so nhl wants rivalries... many teams have only been around the past 20 years... to create rivalries usually requites time and playoff matchups. to create bankable rivalries for the future, you need to encourage playoff races/playoff matchups now

it works. it does increase the viewership and the tickets and the souvigners and beer sales...

they wouldnt do it if it didnt work

 

[BruinDust]

Do you actually believe it’s increasing viewership? I doubt there’s solid numbers, but I would be surprised if there’s any sort of uptick in playoff viewership based on the new divisional format.

You said the NHL is TRYING to force viewership. I have no idea if it is or isn't.

But that exactly what the NHL or any business should be doing, running it to try and get as much interest as possible. You make it sound like a business doing this is some sort of bad or immoral thing. How dare they.

The NHL itself has admitted the format is designed to foster and promote rivalries. You can dislike the format but no one should have any issue with the league's motivation for using the format it has chosen.

 

[Wolfpuck]

Hey Bruins. I have a request from Caniac Nation. After you tune up the Leafs, please dismantle the Lightning in the second round. I don't mind physical but honest play, but they play sneaky dirty.

 

[Hamilton Brian]

Without seeing the play and going on gut instinct, that BS stinks. We've seen too many good players forced out for blatant BS plays. When that lawsuit comes round, when they drag that poor body down...look out. NHL might not have the money the NFL does to weather that storm.

 

[s3antana5757]

You said the NHL is TRYING to force viewership. I have no idea if it is or isn't.

But that exactly what the NHL or any business should be doing, running it to try and get as much interest as possible. You make it sound like a business doing this is some sort of bad or immoral thing. How dare they.

The NHL itself has admitted the format is designed to foster and promote rivalries. You can dislike the format but no one should have any issue with the league's motivation for using the format it has chosen.

I have no problem with the NHL or any other league trying to increase viewership. I didn't say anywhere that it was immoral.

Most of sports organizations don't do it at the expense of competitive balance. As has been discussed over and over again, having 3 of the better teams play each other very early in the playoffs is not a balanced approach.

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

I have no problem with the NHL or any other league trying to increase viewership. I didn't say anywhere that it was immoral.

Most of sports organizations don't do it at the expense of competitive balance. As has been discussed over and over again, having 3 of the better teams play each other very early in the playoffs is not a balanced approach.

are you saying the same 3 teams this year at the same 3 teams last are are the same 3 teams next year?

or are you saying you want playoff realignment every single year taking place in march so that this doesnt happen.... because honest to god its totally happenchance what division might be best. no one knows before a season starts which division might have the 3 best teams

in the last 10 years there was the 3 calfornia teams for awhile… there was Pittsburgh and Washington and company in the met for awhile. usually our division was the weakest.

now its our turn. nothing was set up to create this... its just our turn

 

[GloryDaze4877]

Both Gourde and Paquette are a couple of pieces of shit.

I’m no fan of the Caps, but you had Paquette tackling Kempny on the boards and then pummeling him while he’s down. The whole thing started because Kempny took exception to a borderline hit from behind by Paquette. Kempny left the game with a leg injury as a result of Paquette tackling him against the boards.

At the same time, Gourde was dropping his gloves and beating up noted pugilist Jakub Vrana in JV’s first career fight.

If the earth opened up and swallowed them both, I wouldn’t be overly upset about it.