With Vegas just 3 wins away from a Stanley cup I’ve been starting to wonder that if they win will it cause a ripple effect throughout the league? We all know that the latest cup winners are often mimicked by a multitude of teams hoping to have found the latest formula for success whether it be in terms of style or the way they build their teams. I’m more focused on how teams might be built differently from here on out. We often see great importance put on terms like #1 center or #1 defensemen. Occasionally people will highlight number 1 wingers and goalies as well, but usually it is the center or defensemen that is valued the most.
If you look at most cup winners both pre and post lockout they have usually had at least one or multiple #1 centers or #1 defensemen on their rosters. Recent examples include Kopitar and Doughty, Bergeron and Chara, Towes and Keith, Crosby, Malkin and Letang, Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Lidstrom etc etc. Sometimes if a team was lacking a one or the other they would make up for it by stockpiling multiple players at one of these positions like the 2017 Penguins who won without Letang with their 1-2 punch of Crosby and Malkin down the middle or the 2007 ducks who didn’t have a truly elite centre at the time, but didn’t need one as they cruised through the playoffs with both Pronger and Neidermayer solidifying their blueline.
With all due respect to William Karlsson and Nate Schmidt I don’t see either of them as elite players at their position. Don’t get me wrong they are great players, but just not quite elite guys. The only guy who would fit the criteria I was going on about above would be Fleury who is a #1 goalie, but even he was a backup with a G.A.A above 3.00 last season. Then again Goaltending has always been a hard position to measure in value , but I digress.
With seemingly none of the elite cornerstone players listed above the most obvious explanation for this Vegas run is that they are a team that is 4 lines deep with a good D core and even better goaltending and of course great coaching that makes them perhaps the hardest working team in the league. All of the above has become commonplace knowledge, but can it be replicated?
The closest champion that I could find that would resemble Vegas would seemingly be the 2006 Hurricanes who aside from a#1 centre in a prime Eric Staal really got by on a deep forward group, a hard working lunch pail group of D-men and a a red hot goalie. That championship team was a flash in the pan and never really got all that close to the promised land again and even missed the playoffs the following season. They were never really replicated.
So now in 2018 where the salary cap makes it quite difficult to create and maintain a winner will we still see most teams throwing a ton of money at elite position players to try and create a core to build around or will we see a trend in teams that save their money from being tied up in long term players worth 9 million or more and instead invest that money in building a steady team that is deep thoughout all its lineup ? If Vegas wins the cup I could certainly see quite a few teams especially small market teams trying to build this way. The question is though can this be replicated or is Vegas just lightning in a bottle that has been created under very unique circumstances that can’t be replicated like their expansion draft?
Now with all that said I’d like to apologize for the long read and just say that I think a lot of my speculation may hinge on Vegas wining the cup as there are plenty of underdog teams that have gotten close, but have merely lost and been long since forgotten. The series is tied and the Capitals could very much still win the cup with a much more familiar cup team format. Anyway, I’d love to hear all your thoughts and criticisms below and I hope everyone has been enjoying this year’s playoffs
If you look at most cup winners both pre and post lockout they have usually had at least one or multiple #1 centers or #1 defensemen on their rosters. Recent examples include Kopitar and Doughty, Bergeron and Chara, Towes and Keith, Crosby, Malkin and Letang, Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Lidstrom etc etc. Sometimes if a team was lacking a one or the other they would make up for it by stockpiling multiple players at one of these positions like the 2017 Penguins who won without Letang with their 1-2 punch of Crosby and Malkin down the middle or the 2007 ducks who didn’t have a truly elite centre at the time, but didn’t need one as they cruised through the playoffs with both Pronger and Neidermayer solidifying their blueline.
With all due respect to William Karlsson and Nate Schmidt I don’t see either of them as elite players at their position. Don’t get me wrong they are great players, but just not quite elite guys. The only guy who would fit the criteria I was going on about above would be Fleury who is a #1 goalie, but even he was a backup with a G.A.A above 3.00 last season. Then again Goaltending has always been a hard position to measure in value , but I digress.
With seemingly none of the elite cornerstone players listed above the most obvious explanation for this Vegas run is that they are a team that is 4 lines deep with a good D core and even better goaltending and of course great coaching that makes them perhaps the hardest working team in the league. All of the above has become commonplace knowledge, but can it be replicated?
The closest champion that I could find that would resemble Vegas would seemingly be the 2006 Hurricanes who aside from a#1 centre in a prime Eric Staal really got by on a deep forward group, a hard working lunch pail group of D-men and a a red hot goalie. That championship team was a flash in the pan and never really got all that close to the promised land again and even missed the playoffs the following season. They were never really replicated.
So now in 2018 where the salary cap makes it quite difficult to create and maintain a winner will we still see most teams throwing a ton of money at elite position players to try and create a core to build around or will we see a trend in teams that save their money from being tied up in long term players worth 9 million or more and instead invest that money in building a steady team that is deep thoughout all its lineup ? If Vegas wins the cup I could certainly see quite a few teams especially small market teams trying to build this way. The question is though can this be replicated or is Vegas just lightning in a bottle that has been created under very unique circumstances that can’t be replicated like their expansion draft?
Now with all that said I’d like to apologize for the long read and just say that I think a lot of my speculation may hinge on Vegas wining the cup as there are plenty of underdog teams that have gotten close, but have merely lost and been long since forgotten. The series is tied and the Capitals could very much still win the cup with a much more familiar cup team format. Anyway, I’d love to hear all your thoughts and criticisms below and I hope everyone has been enjoying this year’s playoffs
