Aerrol
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- Sep 18, 2014
- 6,555
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So, after seeing some comments after last night's game (yet again), that the East is a joke and so we should discount a huge character win, I figured we need a place to focus our talk on the Conferences instead of having it litter every damn thread where we play an Eastern team.
Some of you probably are already aware that I don't buy very much into the idea of "WEST GOOD EAST BAD". It's far too simplistic, and even in terms of relative strength, team wise, I don't think it's true. So let's start this discussion with a look at the league-wide standings today:
1. Montreal (east)
2. Dallas (west)
3. Nashville (west)
4. St. Louis (west)
5. NY Rangers (east)
6. NY Islanders (east)
7. Minnesota (west)
8. Winnipeg (west)
9. Washington (east)
10. LA (west)
11. Chicago (west)
12. Pittsburgh (east)
13. Vancouver (west)
14. Tampa (east)
15. Florida (east)
16. Arizona (west)
17. New Jersey (east)
18. San Jose (west)
19. Philadelphia (east)
20. Ottawa (east)
21. Boston (east)
22. Detroit (west)
23. Carolina (east)
24. Edmonton (west)
25. Colorado (west)
26. Buffalo (east)
27. Calgary (west)
28. Toronto (east)
29. Columbus (east)
30. Anaheim (west)
So as of today, out of the top 15 teams, 7/15 (or as close to half as possible), are Eastern Conference teams. Doesn't seem like the West is really that much stronger to me.
Then let's look at some of the bizarro stories (IMO): Anaheim is way too low, Arizona and New Jersey way too high. If they trend back the way I expect them to (and I think most people do), that puts say... Anaheim in the top 15 along with one of San Jose, Philly, or Ottawa. If I had to bet, I'd pick San Jose, so that swings things slightly more in the West's favour. Which is how I see it right now - the West is still slightly better than the East, but it's not a very large gap.
Now let's look at the basket case teams of today: Arizona (unless they continue their miracle run, which I doubt), New Jersey (same as Arizona), Buffalo, Toronto, Columbus, Anaheim (for now), Calgary, Us, Carolina and arguably Boston and Colorado, depending on how they do this year. Of these teams which are fairly commonly expected to end quite poorly this year, you have: 5 Western Teams and 6 Eastern Teams. Again, the East looks slightly weaker.
No matter which way I cut it, I don't see this supposed 'massive' superiority of the West. I see different play styles. Would the Oilers do better in the East? I think so. But that's because they play a more wide-open, 'Eastern-style' game. Not because the conference is a cake-walk. If you think that grinding hockey is clearly superior... I'm going to have to disagree both from a fan perspective (it makes me want to go to bed), and from a results perspective: who were in the Stanley Cup Final last year, hmm?
Regardless, beat this horse to death here, please :. Save our other threads.
Some of you probably are already aware that I don't buy very much into the idea of "WEST GOOD EAST BAD". It's far too simplistic, and even in terms of relative strength, team wise, I don't think it's true. So let's start this discussion with a look at the league-wide standings today:
1. Montreal (east)
2. Dallas (west)
3. Nashville (west)
4. St. Louis (west)
5. NY Rangers (east)
6. NY Islanders (east)
7. Minnesota (west)
8. Winnipeg (west)
9. Washington (east)
10. LA (west)
11. Chicago (west)
12. Pittsburgh (east)
13. Vancouver (west)
14. Tampa (east)
15. Florida (east)
16. Arizona (west)
17. New Jersey (east)
18. San Jose (west)
19. Philadelphia (east)
20. Ottawa (east)
21. Boston (east)
22. Detroit (west)
23. Carolina (east)
24. Edmonton (west)
25. Colorado (west)
26. Buffalo (east)
27. Calgary (west)
28. Toronto (east)
29. Columbus (east)
30. Anaheim (west)
So as of today, out of the top 15 teams, 7/15 (or as close to half as possible), are Eastern Conference teams. Doesn't seem like the West is really that much stronger to me.
Then let's look at some of the bizarro stories (IMO): Anaheim is way too low, Arizona and New Jersey way too high. If they trend back the way I expect them to (and I think most people do), that puts say... Anaheim in the top 15 along with one of San Jose, Philly, or Ottawa. If I had to bet, I'd pick San Jose, so that swings things slightly more in the West's favour. Which is how I see it right now - the West is still slightly better than the East, but it's not a very large gap.
Now let's look at the basket case teams of today: Arizona (unless they continue their miracle run, which I doubt), New Jersey (same as Arizona), Buffalo, Toronto, Columbus, Anaheim (for now), Calgary, Us, Carolina and arguably Boston and Colorado, depending on how they do this year. Of these teams which are fairly commonly expected to end quite poorly this year, you have: 5 Western Teams and 6 Eastern Teams. Again, the East looks slightly weaker.
No matter which way I cut it, I don't see this supposed 'massive' superiority of the West. I see different play styles. Would the Oilers do better in the East? I think so. But that's because they play a more wide-open, 'Eastern-style' game. Not because the conference is a cake-walk. If you think that grinding hockey is clearly superior... I'm going to have to disagree both from a fan perspective (it makes me want to go to bed), and from a results perspective: who were in the Stanley Cup Final last year, hmm?
Regardless, beat this horse to death here, please :. Save our other threads.