The Winter Soldier
Registered User
- Apr 4, 2011
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Again, 3 year sampling including this year, and last. Not just 3 years ago. Look above.But 3 years ago...
Again, 3 year sampling including this year, and last. Not just 3 years ago. Look above.But 3 years ago...
Again, 3 year sampling including this year, and last.
The sample was inclusive to this year. Not just 3 years ago. TB, Boston, and Washington were also on the top tier of this specific sampling. Are you claiming they are terrible also? Maybe you could have used a better word than terrible and then I wouldn't need to reply. For instance a 31st place team is terrible, not a team that is in a playoff race and nowhere near being a bottom level team playing in what most say is the toughest division in hockey this year.Don't you think this year is really all that matters? They are not a good team and there's no signs based on that roster and the age of the core that things will turn for them. Even last year they have a diferent team, let alone the year previous.
And having Burke as the President when a rebuild is needed. Yilkes.
The sample was inclusive to this year. Not just 3 years ago. TB, Boston, and Washington were also on the top tier of this specific sampling. Are you claiming they are terrible also? Maybe you could have used a better word than terrible and then I wouldn't need to reply. For instance a 31st place team is terrible, not a team that is in a playoff race and nowhere near being a bottom level team playing in what most say is the toughest division in hockey this year.
The north has zero of the top 10 NHL teams. Sure some will finish high in the standings while feasting off eachother but they're definitely the weakest division.
Probably a different perspective with regard to weighting the Divisions than yours. I'm guessing some ding the West more for their 3 "bad" teams than they credit it for the 3 very good teams. North only has Ottawa that was bad last year.
If Ottawa was the only bad team, where are the good ones?
Montreal finished 12th in the East last year.
Toronto was 8th in the East based on P%.
Vancouver, Calgary and Winnipeg were 7,8,9 in the West. Edmonton was 5th.
If Ottawa was the only bad team, where are the good ones?
Montreal finished 12th in the East last year.
Toronto was 8th in the East based on P%.
Vancouver, Calgary and Winnipeg were 7,8,9 in the West. Edmonton was 5th.
It was pretty obvious Toronto was gonna be a powerhouse this year.
With the locker room issues with Babcock long gone, the young core getting into their primes, depth issues at every position finally dealt with and remembering the Leafs were 8th OVERALL in the NHL (103 point pace) under their new coach while being one of the most injured teams in the NHL, the Leafs are finally living up to their promise. Even without quite the rebound from Andersen the fans have hoped for, the team is great at almost every position. Easily a top 5 team in the NHL.
Will that translate to playoff success? We'll have to wait and see.
What does last year have to do with anything?
Just from last year, Toronto has 7 new players in the lineup on a nightly basis. Montréal significantly altered there team, etc.
Teams change, look at Florida. They are being used as an example as to why the Central is tough, yet we're awful last year. Or does it only work one way?
It was pretty obvious Toronto was gonna be a powerhouse this year.
With the locker room issues with Babcock long gone, the young core getting into their primes, depth issues at every position finally dealt with and remembering the Leafs were 8th OVERALL in the NHL (103 point pace) under their new coach while being one of the most injured teams in the NHL, the Leafs are finally living up to their promise. Even without quite the rebound from Andersen the fans have hoped for, the team is great at almost every position. Easily a top 5 team in the NHL.
Will that translate to playoff success? We'll have to wait and see.
What part of this changes the fact that they were the 8th best team in the East last year, based on P%? Or, for that matter, where did I say anything about this season?
Well, I figured their record under their new coach is better indicator of future performance than the struggling record under their old coach rife with locker room problems would be.
Throw in the depth upgrades everywhere and the team was poised to really take off.
All the teams in the North outside of Vancouver (with its cap issues) have made strides since then, and even they have a young elite scoring core getting better every game. It's a good division and probably the most fun to watch with its high end scoring flair.
I think a fun exercise would be to create all star teams from each division and have a debate on that. All this labelling of division strength is pretty much hot air opinions (usually to run down or prop up certain teams), at best, so let have a little more fun with it.
The North might be the worst division assembled since the 2000s with the Southeast division. There's two good teams (TOR and WPG) and the rest are junk. Alberta team's are treading water again and the Canucks are worse off than the Senators now. I expect Ottawa to pass Vancouver in the standings by the end of the month.
MTL will limp into a playoff birth by the two greatest words in the English langue. De-fault.
Indicators of future performance will never change what happened in the past. And, my comment was only about where they finished last year. I didn't saying anything about this season.
But, the issue isn't about the young elite scoring cores in the North. It's the lack of quality goaltending outside of Hellebuyck. This guy would probably be the 3rd best goalie in the North, only slightly behind Markstrom.
4 of the top 6 teams in the NHL (3 of the top 4) are Central division teams, most with less games played than most teams around them standings-wise.Same can be said for most divisions.
Some terrible teams will limp in the Central behind Tampa and Carolina, a team in the West behind Vegas, Colorado and STL.
The East should have 4 good teams.
Fact is, nobody can say for certain how good/bad a specific division is this year. I don't think a 7 game series in the Conference Finals will validate it either.
I think talent wise, Tampa can top the Leafs and that's about it. Even teams listed as "contenders" have serious flaws and lack elite talent.
If Winnipeg adds a D at the deadline, they are a cup contender without a doubt. Right up there in terms of pure talent.