LaBomba said:tampa is a case in point. Who says that Columbus or Atlanta couldn't have won the cup last year? Tampa did it...
One 2004 first rounder is plenty for doing lousy in the previous year. A second first rounder for sucking is ridiculous. Sens top 2 lines
Havlat - Crosby - Hossa
Alfie - Spezza - Neil
It wouldn't be the first time a lottery was fixed now would it?FLYLine4LIFE said:Oh god, so if one of the big market places like Chicago, NY, Toronto etc get Crosby are you going to run on here and yell it was a big conspiracy?
Jaded-Fan said:Obviously you have an agenda and point of view: pro-small market teams getting an unequal shot at an weighted lottery..
The Messenger said:Don't we live in a Democracy ..??
Isn't Gary Bettman employed by the NHL owners ???...
If 20 of the 30 NHL team Owners voted for a equal 1-30 chance for all, why would or should Bettman do it any other way, again focussing on the fact that he works for them .... NO ????
Even if the 16 playoff teams voted yes and the 14 non-playoff voted no, you still would have a majority vote in favour.
How do you suppose Tampa became good? The were so bad for so long that they were able to acquire high draft picks which they parlayed into players and assets to form a winning team. Ottawa did it, Detroit did it, Jersey did it . . . . . . to say a team "deserves" only one high end draft pick is a bit silly - - - comparing Tampa to Columbus at this point as a bit silly - - - once Columbus and Atlanta have been around for over ten years, then we can see how well they drafted and if they made smart hockey moves (and thus far both seem to be doing good jobs building a solid strong core)LaBomba said:tampa is a case in point. Who says that Columbus or Atlanta couldn't have won the cup last year? Tampa did it...
One 2004 first rounder is plenty for doing lousy in the previous year. A second first rounder for sucking is ridiculous. Sens top 2 lines
Havlat - Crosby - Hossa
Alfie - Spezza - Neil
futurcorerock said:Sorry, as much as the pundits want to call this "unusual", we should be doing the draft as if it were a usual year.
The Messenger said:
I took the liberty to correct you sentence so we know where you are coming from.
Caution : Two way street ahead .. Look both directions before crossing ..
Seems like even in this thread you are badly out numbered .. I guess that is what it was like in the GM meeting itself no less .. or at least a pretty good re-enactment of the events described as "heated discussion" ..
Six, only six teams? Wow they hold way more power than I originally thought. <<giggle>>FLYLine4LIFE said:Its funny...the league isnt a democracy..that was VERY obvious when the poor 6 teams were calling the shots during the CBA wars in Dec-Feb.
I think I will wait to see this one in print before I waste time making up my mind about how I feel about it. Not only is there a chance that the listener didn’t pick up the whole statement, but, back when he was behind the Ranger bench, disgruntled Ranger fans used to claim Muckler was senile and he is not getting any younger.PecaFan said:Yup. I fully expect that this Muckler crap is simply some folks with poor comprehension skills. I'll bet Muckler said something like "All teams will have a chance for the first overall pick", and some folks with wishful thinking heard that as "all teams will have *equal* chance for the first pick".
LaBomba said:tampa is a case in point. Who says that Columbus or Atlanta couldn't have won the cup last year? Tampa did it...
One 2004 first rounder is plenty for doing lousy in the previous year. A second first rounder for sucking is ridiculous. Sens top 2 lines
Havlat - Crosby - Hossa
Alfie - Spezza - Neil
Agreed - - and I still contend the best solution is to NOT have a draft until the league can determine draft order based on seasonal rankings** . . . . . . the {insert newest nickname} will have to wait six months or so before he can make his arrival.Sorry, as much as the pundits want to call this "unusual", we should be doing the draft as if it were a usual year.
OilKiller said:Forget all this talk guys. The NHL should just give the first pick to my Flames because they lost the Cup to TB. Seems fair to me...
Top Shelf said:Oh yeah - did you have Columbus winning the cup in your early season projections? What about next year?
You want to argue your case for a shot at Crosby that's fine but enough with the Columbus could have won the cup talk.
Personally, I'll take one year in the playoffs any day over a top 5 pick.
ti-vite said:Let the poor boy play where he wants.
GregStack said:To be perfectly honest, Columbus probably would have been a playoff team this season (04-05) had there of been one. Nash and Zherdev are a fantastic duo, the defence in Columbus was not so attrocious it couldn't be saved, you've got a good goalie, and there is a ton of free agents to be had. I'd have bet on Columbus to breach the playoffs in the 04-05 season, probably have an early exit, but they'd make it. Win the Cup? No, I would have to say that won't happen, but playoffs were definitely a possiblity for a team of Columbus' talent level.
The Messenger said:Don't we live in a Democracy ..??
Isn't Gary Bettman employed by the NHL owners ???...
If 20 of the 30 NHL team Owners voted for a equal 1-30 chance for all, why would or should Bettman do it any other way, again focussing on the fact that he works for them .... NO ????
Even if the 16 playoff teams voted yes and the 14 non-playoff voted no, you still would have a majority vote in favour.
ti-vite said:Let the poor boy play where he wants.
Jaded-Fan said:ps: I heard on the radio that they were dispersing the pick of prospects from Colorado, Toronto, Detroit and Philly to the bottom teams in the standings 2003-4 to make up for their outspending evryone the past couple of decades. Honest. On FAN BS100. Hold on while I create another name to confirm that they heard it too.
This is exactly my concerns . . . . whether or not the lottery is contrived in such a way as to favor certain markets the mere appearance of doing so will put the NHL in very poor light - - - something that I think even mainstream sports media will be all too happy to share with the sports public.The Iconoclast said:Well, if the BOG wants to run a rotisarrie league style selection process, more power to them. If they want to pick the order out of a hat more power to them. Hell, I would love it if either of the teams that were in the last Stanley Cup were awarded the first pick and Sydney Crosby lined up for either side. That would be okay from my strictly selfish position!
But if we're trying to make the NHL more competitive and practice the tenants of fair play, this is a terrible idea. I think the league will look extremely micky mouse, especially if one of the big spenders is awarded the pick. It will have the traces of impropriety all over the process and make the league look its worst when it should be at its best and trying to gain back lost credability. Time will tell, but I think this methodology is flawed and will come back to haunt the league.
heshootshescores said:Not sure about you, but 24 NHL teams operate in a republic, not a democracy. Under that system, the owners vote for their representative (Bettman), who in turn votes on behalf of the voters themselves.
Checks and balances were instituted to prevent this kind of "mob" majority rule.
Please realize I am just joking and not at all trying to make a serious point.
Munchausen said:Sadly, I'm pretty sure right now there's 25 or so GMs (and owners too) that will push for an equal chance lottery, with all the fans of those teams coming up with lame excuses (my team could have been worse this year, the cap takes away our rightful advantage, a plane could crash on the AC Center, etc.) to agree with them. Only the likely bottom teams will feel outraged by this and even though I'm not a fan of a bottom team, I sure understand their pain.
The draft was at first a mean to create a cycle in hockey and help the teams in difficulty, so they can "re-do" themselves through the draft. If you take away this only purpose just because Crosby is making everybody lose their marbles, might as well call it a night on the entry draft system altogether and declare 18yo free agents up for grab to anyone.
No matter the stupid excuse you come up with, there is not one single legit reason for this draft not to be at least weighted in the bottom teams' favor. But unity is likely already over among owners. Sharks will be sharks, and every owner will want Crosby on their team to kick start the new era, no matter what logic says about it, so be sure an equal chance lottery is a likely scenario April 20th.
Epsilon said:Now you're simply taking this issue way too personally. Stop being such a whiny little baby.