League News: NHL Talk - (News n' Scores n' Stuff) - COVID Season Edition - Vol. 2

[895]

Technically not true, McDavid has 68 assists, Drai has 79 points.

It is true. You have to remove the goals Drai assisted on.

 

[AussieCapsFan]

Average goals against per game, per division:

Central: 2.873
West: 2.933
North: 2.948

East: 2.986

So, um, which division gives up the most goals per game??

Looks like McDavid would have about 101 or 102 points if he was playing in our division, huh?

It's an incredible accomplishment. What a shame some people want to p*ss on it.

 

[TRASHCAT]

East has a lot of shitty teams too

 

[TRASHCAT]

Itl be interesting to see if any teams in the conference finals get swept

 

[AussieCapsFan]

Itl be interesting to see if any teams in the conference finals get swept

I could see a few in the 1st round:

Canes sweep Preds
Leafs sweep Montreal
Oilers sweep Jets

Vegas or Avalanche might sweep the Canadian team in the conf final?

First round is going to be a bloodbath for some of the matchups. Teams already sick of playing each other in regular season now have to do it "for real" / winner takes all.

 

[Corby78]

Average goals against per game, per division:

Central: 2.873
West: 2.933
North: 2.948

East: 2.986

So, um, which division gives up the most goals per game??

Looks like McDavid would have about 101 or 102 points if he was playing in our division, huh?

It's an incredible accomplishment. What a shame some people want to p*ss on it.

The tallent level in that division isn’t the same as the rest. Put either of those guys in the metro or west and they are still great players, but their numbers dip.

 

[Skrudland2Lomakin]

People saying the North is ass, I agree, that also includes the Oilers outside of Draitsal. That team is Sabres quality outside of those two guys.

It’s honestly impressive how they had a guy put up 100 points and outside of Leon the rest of the team is just a wet fart of offense. You’ve got Nurse and Barrie who road his points blast on defense and then RNH who has 33 points.

I look at the Pens and a I see a roster that has a pulse beyond Sid. That’s not the case in EDM beyond McDavid and LD

 

[IafrateOvie34]

Playoffs is a strange world. Any team can get knocked off and some teams that shouldn't be there can go on miracle runs. I think back to the 91 North Stars. That was unbelievable the quality of teams they had to beat to make the SCF and took the Penguins to six games. Chicago was the best regular season team, St Louis had Scott Stevens, Hull, and Oates with a tough team, and the North Stars demolished the Oilers physically in the Campbell Conference Finals. Tinordi was a beast and Casey was phenomenal, perhaps a CS MVP. Old washed up vets showed up and gave some of their last performances like Propp. We're talking about a team that was bad in the regular season, really bad. Then there was the Met Center an incredibly tough place to play where fans threw food and beer at the the opposing teams. Carolina has a great hockey club, but I wouldn't write off the Preds. They could be this year's version of the 91 North Stars.

 

[Ridley Simon]

I disagree about the vision and IQ. Crosby has never been as flashy as McD physically, but he absolutely dominated at times in his career, relying more on those other attributes. As for the individual awards, McDavid doesn't have an Ovie to compete with. He's arguably the only real generational talent of his generation.

So, I guess we'll see. I don't want to diminish his performance this year; it's been amazing. But it's also noteworthy though that McDavid isn't exactly playing against the league's defensive powerhouses this season.

His teammate Draisaitl may be his Ovechkin.

 

[AussieCapsFan]

Carolina has a great hockey club, but I wouldn't write off the Preds. They could be this year's version of the 91 North Stars.

Yeah I would be surprised if the Canes swept the Preds, but it is notable that the Canes beat them 6 games in a row this season until the game last night, a game that guaranteed they would meet in the playoffs if the Canes lost it.
They would certainly appear to have their number, but for sure playoffs are a whole different animal and the Preds have gotten a lot better as the season has progressed.

 

[ALLCAPSALLTHETIME]

McD will win the Cup once or twice before all is said and done. If he stays relatively healthy, he is going to clean up on Art Rosses and Harts and has a shot at 2,000 points.

He is ridiculously good.

 

[pman25]

Hard to imagine how McDavid could score in a division against the likes of the New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, and Buffalo Sabres...

 

[StrikingDistance]

Hard to imagine how McDavid could score in a division against the likes of the New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, and Buffalo Sabres...

I haven't watched many 'North' games, but wish the Caps were in that group. Habs, Flames, Canucks, and the Sens.

Our top 6 teams are over 50/50 any given night. North's top 4 are just over 50/50 any given night.

Let's be real: There are 2 good teams in that division. We have 4 good teams and none of those clubs had to play the Aisles boring and smothering defense 8000 times this year. haha

Currently:
The difference between 1st and 4th in the North: 19pts
The difference between 1st and 4th in the East: 7pts

Kind regards,
Cherry Picker of Stats

 

[Marshall]

My problem with McDavid isn't McDavid at all - the guy is insanely talented and is the best offensive player in the league by a good bit, I'd say.

The draft lottery should have been fixed before he went to Edmonton, not after, though. I don't want that team to have success due to the continuing bounties they had given to them due to their complete incompetence, and the broken system that kept rewarding them for it.

I wish McDavid all the health in the world - and I want the Oilers to suck. I suppose that's a difficult tightrope to walk sometimes.

 

[HecticGlow]

We have 4 good teams

I think actually you can put the Sabres in as a decent, if not good, team since they made their coaching change (especially given that’s without Hall, Eichel or an NHL-calibre goaltender). The Rangers are actually a pretty competitive team too, just marred by youthful inexperience right now.

I’m not saying McDavid wouldn’t go crazy in scoring against the entire Eastern division (aside, perhaps, from NYI), but I think this division having the highest GAA is due as much to the offensive abilities of almost every team in the division, not just defensive/goaltending weaknesses. Though the Flyers sure have helped boost that number up quite a lot.

 

[zappa4ever]

Same here pretty much, they've been rewarded the most for failing

Give them the Caps fate for the first 12 years of OV-era...
The 2nd Round Curse
After that, sure by then that'll be enough suffering, lol

...

...
I wish McDavid all the health in the world - and I want the Oilers to suck. I suppose that's a difficult tightrope to walk sometimes.

 

[Calicaps]

My problem with McDavid isn't McDavid at all - the guy is insanely talented and is the best offensive player in the league by a good bit, I'd say.

The draft lottery should have been fixed before he went to Edmonton, not after, though. I don't want that team to have success due to the continuing bounties they had given to them due to their complete incompetence, and the broken system that kept rewarding them for it.

I wish McDavid all the health in the world - and I want the Oilers to suck. I suppose that's a difficult tightrope to walk sometimes.

Yeah this. Whatever shine they had from the Gretzky years has gone dull after multiple gifted and spoiled FO picks. That they got McDavid at the end of all that is so unfair to the rest of the league. Imagine what it might have done for the growth of the game if he'd ended up in Arizona or Columbus or some other small market.

I feel a lot similar about the easy road given to Vegas and probably Seattle.

 

[HecticGlow]

Yeah this. Whatever shine they had from the Gretzky years has gone dull after multiple gifted and spoiled FO picks. That they got McDavid at the end of all that is so unfair to the rest of the league. Imagine what it might have done for the growth of the game if he'd ended up in Arizona or Columbus or some other small market.

I feel a lot similar about the easy road given to Vegas and probably Seattle.

I think the Vegas/Seattle thing was a bit different, in that a lot of it was self-inflicted by the other teams rather than the league. Without guys like Shea Theodore, William Karlsson and Riley Smith, Vegas would’ve never been more than a middling team in Yr1 - and those guys were not natural or direct picks, but the result of trade-engineered picks by their original teams. Without them, and the success they had, I think it would’ve been a lot harder to sign high level guys like Stone, Patch and Pietrangelo. Hell, the caps valued picking Lucas Johansen over keeping Schmidt, and then gifted Stephenson because they again didn’t fully recognise or enjoy what they had in him.

I suspect many teams will be less willing to make deals this time around to protect guys because of that, but will instead look to buy some of Seattle’s cap space instead.

And honestly, it’s not like Vegas was exactly gifted prospects at the Prospect Draft - Cody Glass is still a WIP, and they’ve been late first round picks (often traded) ever since.

 

[trick9]

Connor McDavid is going to look great in a Caps jersey with Wilson on his side and Ovechkin on his other side, helping him break Gretzky's record in 2026.

Call me crazy but the writing is on the wall... there is a reason why Backstrom, Ovechkin, Kuznetsov and Oshie contracts are expiring right before McDavid hits UFA. That's the same reason why Ovechkin is going to sign 5-year contract in the summer and then in 2026 he'll pick up the phone and call Connor to help him out with one thing and take league minimum deal himself to help ease his decision.

 

[twabby]

Connor McDavid is going to look great in a Caps jersey with Wilson on his side and Ovechkin on his other side, helping him break Gretzky's record in 2026.

Call me crazy but the writing is on the wall... there is a reason why Backstrom, Ovechkin, Kuznetsov and Oshie contracts are expiring right before McDavid hits UFA. That's the same reason why Ovechkin is going to sign 5-year contract in the summer and then in 2026 he'll pick up the phone and call Connor to help him out with one thing and take league minimum deal himself to help ease his decision.

Nah they'll just get Eichel instead:

 

[John Price]

 

[John Price]

Nah they'll just get Eichel instead:

yep sounds like he's on his way out

sadly i believe we're strapped for cap so he isn't coming here. But Eichel deserves to see winning once in his life. I can understand loyalty to the team that drafted you but if they don't do anything to help you out you have every right to seek your way out

 

[Calicaps]

yep sounds like he's on his way out

sadly i believe we're strapped for cap so he isn't coming here. But Eichel deserves to see winning once in his life. I can understand loyalty to the team that drafted you but if they don't do anything to help you out you have every right to seek your way out

Trade Kuzy, Dillon and McMichael or Lapierre for Eichel. Schultz, Sammy, VV, or Jensen goes to Seattle. Eichel, Fever, and AA/Copley get added.

 

[EroCaps]

Eichel would be sick.

I imagine he ends up in Columbus, though.

 

[txpd]

My problem with McDavid isn't McDavid at all - the guy is insanely talented and is the best offensive player in the league by a good bit, I'd say.

The draft lottery should have been fixed before he went to Edmonton, not after, though. I don't want that team to have success due to the continuing bounties they had given to them due to their complete incompetence, and the broken system that kept rewarding them for it.

I wish McDavid all the health in the world - and I want the Oilers to suck. I suppose that's a difficult tightrope to walk sometimes.

I think we sometimes forget how fast the Caps rebuild was. When they first made the playoffs it was with just 2 top 5 picks and Backstrom was a rookie. That was with the screwing the Caps got in the snake draft.

At the same time had they not won the Ovechkin lottery the consensus #3 pick that year turned to be a total bust, Barker. Imagine had they gotten Barker and Bobby Ryan how bad it would have been?