Contenders

[Club]

Ovechkin has problems in the playoffs. he pretty much doesnt show up. ever.

 

[AK44]

Ovechkin has problems in the playoffs. he pretty much doesnt show up. ever.

God damn this is so wrong.

 

[JaegerDice]

Ovechkin has problems in the playoffs. he pretty much doesnt show up. ever.

His stats in the playoffs are strong.

He suffers the same problem than any player on a team that depends on PP production during the regular season faces. Those opportunities dry up in the post-season.

The best Capitals teams have never actually be elite 5v5 teams when you look at the underlying numbers. And outside of the Montreal debacle in 2010, they've generally lost to superior 5v5 teams.

 

[Club]

God damn this is so wrong.

How many times has OV won the stanley cup lol? I meant the Capitals as a whole, not just OV

 

[Penske]

I feel like Florida is being underrated they should improve on last season.

 

[The Shovel Penguin]

Ovechkin does show up in the playoffs. Some of his teammates, not so much.

 

[tony d]

Top 5 for me would be Tampa, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Chicago, Washington

 

[Gargyn]

You're questioning CHI and LAK offensive depth then pitting STL and ANA out there as alternatives? K.

LA has Kopitar, Carter and Toffoli. Pearson is horribly overrated, Purcell just flat out sucks and Gaborik is old and always injured. St Louis has Tarasenko, Schwartz, Steen, Fabbri, Perron, Lehtera and stastny. Anaheim I can agree with.

 

[ginner classic]

I subscribe to a version of the Pierre Mcguire recipe:

Legit #1 Center
Legit #1 D
Legit #2 D
Game breaking winger
1 power foward in top 6
Legit #2 Center
Top 15 Goalie - bonus if top 5
Legit #3 Center
Elite utility player
Top 15 coach


Few teams ever have all these things, but I grade teams against this.

 

[ginner classic]

LA has Kopitar, Carter and Toffoli. Pearson is horribly overrated, Purcell just flat out sucks and Gaborik is old and always injured. St Louis has Tarasenko, Schwartz, Steen, Fabbri, Perron, Lehtera and stastny. Anaheim I can agree with.

St Louis ticks all the boxes except the #1 center. It kills them every year.

 

[ginner classic]

Washington
Tampa
Chicago
Pittsburgh
Nashville
LA
Anaheim
St Louis
Dallas
Florida
Minnesota
NYI
Montreal

 

[Blue Shakehead]

How in the hell is Montreal on everyones list every year? Their playoff hopes are based almost entirely on Price being a .935 goalie and starting 65 games. They are at best a bubble team and likely not a playoff team.

Minnesota? On what planet are they a contender?

 

[Sensinitis]

Yeah, Minnesota and Montreal are laughable choices.

 

[blankall]

Yeah, Minnesota and Montreal are laughable choices.

Not sure if "laughable" is the right world. I, however, don't see what separates them from the plethora of other teams that could go a run or could just flat out miss the playoffs. The NHL is structured these days so there are 5 or so teams above and another 5 teams or so teams below. The other 20 or so teams are all in the same group of teams that could go on a run or could miss the playoffs depending on how their season goes.

 

[JaegerDice]

I agree that Montreal are not legit contenders.

I mean yeah, there's a non-zero chance Price goes off and single-handedly carries them to a cup, but it's not a particularly good chance.

They're a playoff team because the East falls off a cliff after PIT, TBL and WSH, but they don't have a prayer against any of those teams in a 7 game series, and frankly, I'm not even sure they beat the Isles or the Panthers in a 7 game series, Price be damned.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I'll be shocked if the Pens repeat. They caught lightning in a bottle. They aren't that talented.

You also think it would be surprising if the Oilers missed the playoffs, so ...

Anyway, I actually *do* agree with your first sentence, but not for the reason you listed. I don't think they'll repeat because I think it's near impossible to do so in today's NHL. Too much parity means the difference between teams is so razor thin. The fact it hasn't happened since 1998 or whatever is proof of that.

But the "they aren't that talented" part is laughable. They boast the kind of 4-line depth that very few teams in the league can compete with.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Ovechkin has problems in the playoffs. he pretty much doesnt show up. ever.

I think Ovechkin (and the Capitals) are proof that you can't win a Cup if your best player is a winger. Especially if it's a goal scoring winger.

I think it's less an indictment on Ovechkin and more a statement on how important the center position is, and having a guy who creates chances for his linemates as opposed to being deadly by himself is.

In terms of winning a Cup, elite playmaking center >> elite goal scoring winger. In fact, I can't recall the last time a team won the Cup where their best player was a goal scoring winger.

 

[JaegerDice]

I think Ovechkin (and the Capitals) are proof that you can't win a Cup if your best player is a winger. Especially if it's a goal scoring winger.

I think it's less an indictment on Ovechkin and more a statement on how important the center position is, and having a guy who creates chances for his linemates as opposed to being deadly by himself is.

In terms of winning a Cup, elite playmaking center >> elite goal scoring winger. In fact, I can't recall the last time a team won the Cup where their best player was a goal scoring winger.

I'm pretty certain this wasn't the intent of your post, but the conclusion one could draw is that you think Backstrom isnt a strong enough 1C to win a cup with?

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I'm pretty certain this wasn't the intent of your post, but the conclusion one could draw is that you think Backstrom is a strong enough 1C to win a cup with?

On paper, he should be. But he's not exactly played to the level of a Cup winning 1C most playoffs.

I think if Washington ever does win the Cup, it'll be because Backstrom and Kuznetsov evolve and provide that elite center play that Cup winning teams have. Both have the potential to be that kind of center depth Cup teams typically have, but both have fallen short.

Thus why I just don't envision them ever winning the Cup if Ovechkin is their best player with Backstrom and Kuznetsov not being front and center. More a commentary on the importance of the respective positions than on the player (Ovechkin) himself.

 

[Lshap]

I agree that Montreal are not legit contenders.

I mean yeah, there's a non-zero chance Price goes off and single-handedly carries them to a cup, but it's not a particularly good chance.

They're a playoff team because the East falls off a cliff after PIT, TBL and WSH, but they don't have a prayer against any of those teams in a 7 game series, and frankly, I'm not even sure they beat the Isles or the Panthers in a 7 game series, Price be damned.

Montreal's a legit darkhorse contender. They're stronger in every area than the Habs team that went to the ELC two years ago. In fact, they've significantly beefed up their single biggest weakness: Their powerplay, which now has Weber, Radulov and Shaw. I agree Tampa and Pittsburgh have better playoff rosters, but Washington's playoff performances downgrade them somewhat. A Habs/Caps series would be great, plus it would showcase my two favourite goalies, Holtby and Price.

As to Florida and NYI, frankly, neither team has done anything to merit all the optimism yet. I'm still waiting to see how far a healthy Halak could take the Islanders, and Florida has a lot riding on an aging Luongo and Jagr. Two good teams, but not there yet.

 

[strictlyrandy]

St Louis ticks all the boxes except the #1 center. It kills them every year.

They don't even have a proven quality goalie. They no longer tick all the boxes. That and losing Shatty at the deadline is gonna hurt as they won't get a return that makes them better. They also have Hitchcock for one more year. St. Louis just isn't a contender this year.

 

[Little Psycho]

St Louis ticks all the boxes except the #1 center. It kills them every year.

I don't know how people don't get that. You need a #1 C to go far.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

San Jose, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Tampa, and Washington. Those are really the only teams I see as contenders and in no particular order.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I don't know how people don't get that. You need a #1 C to go far.

Not only that, but I'd argue you need *two* players capable of being a #1 center to win it all.

Pittsburgh (Crosby, Malkin), Los Angeles (Kopitar, Carter), Boston (Bergeron, Krejci), and Detroit (Zetterberg, Datsyuk) all had a guy playing on their second line that was, in effect, a legitimate #1 center in his own right.

The only exception to that among the past ten Cup winners is Chicago, with Toews being the only legitimate #1 center on the roster. But they made up for it with ridiculous depth on the wings and very good top four on defense.

That's why I think certain teams fall short, even when they have supposed strong rosters. They don't have that one guy (or multiple guys) playing on their 2nd and 3rd lines who are actually legitimate 1st line players.

 

[CGG]

How in the hell is Montreal on everyones list every year? Their playoff hopes are based almost entirely on Price being a .935 goalie and starting 65 games. They are at best a bubble team and likely not a playoff team.

Because Price is that good. And while teams like Dallas will eventually die out because of awful goaltending issues, Price can steal a series or two. And that's ignoring that the rest of the team is flat out better than they were 2 years ago when they went to the semi finals.

Likely not a playoff team? There's about a 0% chance they miss the playoffs this year. They don't need a .935 Price to make the playoffs. The reverse is true. They needed .903 goaltending from Condon/Scrivens/Tokarski to miss the playoffs. Even with average goaltending they would have made it last year.