Vegas Cinderella story is over

bdub24

iNsErT bAnNeR jOkE hErE
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Mar 4, 2013
13,315
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You mean Pacioretty and Reaves aren't getting it done?

They should send Galland to St Louis and bring Yeo in. He'll fix it.

Also, not worried about the health of the game in Las Vegas. Those fans have literally gone through weeks of suffering. They'll make it.
 

beowulf

Not a nice guy.
Jan 29, 2005
59,361
8,958
Ottawa
They aren't in a terrible position and a part of their problem is their backup goalie has not performed at all at 0-4 with a 4.02 GAA and sub .860 save%. MaxPac has a rough start and has started scoring. I would not count them out of a playoff spot by the end of the season just yet.
 

madhi19

Just the tip!
Jun 2, 2012
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Sucking was the idea all along. They picked a bunch of upcoming UFA that played like their career was on the line. (Because it was.) Some of them got paid elsewhere some of them re-upped. That plan was probably to make a killing at the deadline but the team result screwed that up. Trading for Max was a weird one and man did they overpaid for a guy who goes cold for months.
 

Bondurant

Registered User
Jul 4, 2012
6,395
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Phoenix, Arizona
Vegas paid $500 mil to get a team. Nashville paid $80 mil ($124 million today).

Vegas basically paid 4x more to get a team, and there are 17 NHL franchises that are worth less than what Vegas paid for. They should be given a bit better start than what Nashville had to deal with, but a bunch of teams decided to give out top 6 players like candy (i.e. Florida).

This is a simple economic reality that many willfully ignore. So many talk about "paying dues". Well, Vegas paid 500 million of them.
 

Vegan Knight

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Feb 16, 2018
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Vegas didn't even fully take advantage, in terms of the roster built for last season, of better expansion draft rules because they made deals and picked players further down teams lists than they could have if they picked for the "best" players they could based on reputation at the time. They were handed what was thought a bottom five team and turned it into one of the best.

The stats were not out of whack, Vegas was that good last season. The only outlier was Karlsson's shooting % but everyone knew that.

Everyone didn't have a career year. Wild Bill's goals (not his assist total) and Perron's point total were probably the only that qualify there.

Haula had 29 goals but deserved every one of them, no statistical anomaly, and simply had a break out year. He is capable of putting up similar numbers. It really is too bad for him he got injured.

It was a genuinely great team of players given more opportunity that played well in a unique season, in many respects.
 

DFF

Registered User
Feb 28, 2002
22,275
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I watched boring hockey and a team that had no hope of winning a playoff series for an entire decade plus. Predators after 2 decades has NEVER had a player score more than 33 goals and Vegas had a 43 goal scorer. Vegas gets handed a team of top 4 defensemen and top 6 forwards and a top 10 goaltender and makes the Stanley Cup finals in it 1st season. It’s ridiculous that an expansion team is given top level players when others had to deal with AHL castoffs as starters. Vegas should have to pay it’s dues and build a team from scratch!!


Not true, most of them were not before Vegas
 

KingsFan7824

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Dec 4, 2003
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Nobody should be able to just buy a decent team or more favorable treatment from the league.

I'm sure a lot of the owners were hoping to use Vegas as a contract dumping ground, which is why they agreed to some more favorable rules. Those NMC's came back to bite them again though.
 

Vegan Knight

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Feb 16, 2018
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Stastny was brought in to be 2C and replace part of Perron/Neal 110 points. He can't do that when he isn't playing. Pacioretty has started poorly and isn't holding up his end of getting those points. Haula is out injured now and most of his 56 points would need replacing. Karlsson was always due to regress on his goal total. Though he is still on pace for 60 points despite not playing as good as he can. Tuch is becoming an elite player so that helps offset some of that.

On defense, Schmidt was our top defender and out the first quarter of the season. It is a big loss to try to absorb without losing some ground.

Even still Vegas is underperforming what their stats say they should be doing. This team is a solid playoff team when healthy. When missing multiple key pieces for large parts of the season then they are considerably worse. The team could make the playoffs or finish bottom five, it might be a difference of a handful of wins this year.

But possible less injuries, a lottery pick, Glass and Brannstrom making the NHL and possibly bringing over Gusev next season could put Vegas right back in contention.
 

Crede777

Deputized
Dec 16, 2009
14,611
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I'm sure a lot of the owners were hoping to use Vegas as a contract dumping ground, which is why they agreed to some more favorable rules. Those NMC's came back to bite them again though.
That's true. I think leveraging their capspace to their advantage is something that would have happened regardless of the expansion draft requirements.

But if teams had just 1 more protection slot at each position (F, D, G) the draft goes quite differently.

That was my major gripe as soon as the ED requirements were first announced. Sure, update the process from 2000 but I felt like the owners of the 30 other teams were too giddy about receiving their share of the buy in to adequately negotiate and protect talents that their general managers had worked hard to compile.

Faced with 1 more protection slot per position versus sitting on an empty T-Mobile arena, Vegas almost certainly would have caved. Owners get to keep more of their talent, their teams can still try to offload bad contracts, and Vegas gets its team. But the owners never really tried.
 

Visul

Registered User
Dec 22, 2015
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Vegas will be a playoffs team this season. When they have the worst PDO and at the same time 3rd best xGF% in the league, you just know they're gonna turn things around. At some point they'll start capitalizing their chances and probably get their power play going. Paul Stastny should be back in Vegas line up very soon and he will boost their secondary scoring a lot.
 

Vegan Knight

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Feb 16, 2018
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That's true. I think leveraging their capspace to their advantage is something that would have happened regardless of the expansion draft requirements.

But if teams had just 1 more protection slot at each position (F, D, G) the draft goes quite differently.

That was my major gripe as soon as the ED requirements were first announced. Sure, update the process from 2000 but I felt like the owners of the 30 other teams were too giddy about receiving their share of the buy in to adequately negotiate and protect talents that their general managers had worked hard to compile.

Faced with 1 more protection slot per position versus sitting on an empty T-Mobile arena, Vegas almost certainly would have caved. Owners get to keep more of their talent, their teams can still try to offload bad contracts, and Vegas gets its team. But the owners never really tried.

I don't think that would have resulted in very many "worse" players being chosen. If anything, Vegas probably would have gotten less extra picks and prospects in order to take largely the same type of players.

Regardless, even if we take that argument, it wouldn't at all help the NHL or any teams to try to repeat the struggles of Nashville, Atlanta or Columbus in the last round of expansion (on the ice and off) in order to maybe, possibly save a few teams an extra third liner.
 

Butch 19

Go cart Mozart
May 12, 2006
16,526
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They accomplished last season what many franchises that have been in the league for decades never have, and nearly won the Stanley Cup. All because of the moronic expansion draft that Seattle is going to be getting as well. Joke.

so, obviously you just can't appreciate what they actually DID - a few wins away from winning the Stanley Cup in their first year of existence.

That is simply amazing, yet you and many others have a blind hatred toward them, for no apparent reason - and you assume that Seattle will perform in a similar manner....? Joke.

:facepalm:
 

JetsWillFly4Ever

PLAY EHLERS 20 MIN A NIGHT
May 21, 2011
6,211
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Winnipeg MB.
Biggest difference is goaltending, but their PDO is ridiculously low and is bound to increase. Fleury is prone to being hot and cold, they really need him to get hot again. I think they still have a good shot at the playoffs just because of how pathetic the Pacific division is.
 

Syckle78

Registered User
Nov 5, 2011
14,585
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Redford, MI
I'm not one of them but I don't blame other fans one bit for being bitter or jealous of their instant success. It would suck to see a team enjoy instant success if you're a fan of a team that'd been toiling forever. Why are people acting like like they're above this? Petty and irrational hate and love is what being a sports fan is all about.
 

tmurfin

That’s the joke
May 8, 2010
11,242
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A team that rode a PDO bender regressed the next season?

THE HELL YOU SAY!
images
 
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Puckstop40

Registered User
Aug 23, 2009
8,742
6,557
Las Vegas, NV
The Cinderella story ended game 5 against the Capitals. None of us as Vegas fans expected anywhere near the success we had last year. We went from one of the luckiest teams to unluckiest this year. GM needs to slow the role with these trades though. One good season does not mean sell the future and he has given away a LOT of picks and one player in particular I was excited to see come through the ranks in Suzuki. We are only 5 points out of a playoff spot but that can change real fast if we don’t start playing better.

Also find it funny how much bitterness is coming from people that are fans of teams whose management has caused them to suck for years, making them believe that there is some code that you have to be as bad as they are before you are allowed to have success.
 
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NoName

Bringer of Playoffs!
Nov 3, 2017
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This is the part where they turn back into a Pumpkin, correct?
 

pbgoalie

Registered User
Aug 8, 2010
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Nobody should be able to just buy a decent team or more favorable treatment from the league.
Yeah, because no team in history has “bought” or tried to buy teams

So tired of the revisionist whining.....it was rarer than an honest politician to see someone who thought they came out of the draft with an “unfairly” loaded team.
They also started the year with ZERO depth as a new team and survived injuries playing as a team.
Yes, they look a step back, but lord, the idea that my team sucked for years so this isn’t fair sounds like some need to retreat to safe spaces.
Yell at your management not Vegas

Cripes, I’m a Ducks fan, and everyone hates us, but the sob starry from some over the success of Vegas is pathetic
 

Gnashville

HFBoards Hall of Famer
Jan 7, 2003
13,684
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Crossville
17 is right around the middle which is where you would peg a brand new team valuewise.

$500 million today is pretty close to $80 million in 1998 when you control for league revenue.

Plus, it doesn't matter if they had spent a billion. Nobody should be able to just buy wins in this league. Should instead come down to ability to draft, develop, trade, and maintain. The expansion draft is just there to give them 32 warm bodies for the first season.

The rules were too favorable for Vegas when compared to what Nashville, Atlanta, Minnesota and Columbus went through. Granted, they weren't so favorable as to make what Vegas did last season very likely. That was more frustrating in a "spitting in the eye of the stats gods" level.
Exactly
Minnesota has won 4 playoff series in it’s history 2 was a real Cinderella run to the Conference Finals in their 3rd year.
Atlanta/Winnipeg had never won a playoff series until last season and lost to Vegas in the Conference Finals
Columbus has NEVER won a playoff series
Nashville is the only team to make the Stanley Cup Finals and it took 20 years to get there.
I could list the rosters of these teams in their 1st year and they were laughable at best.

Now Seattle is knocking on the door and my team is going to have to surrender a top 4 defensemen, our highly regarded backup goalie, or another Top 6 forward.
 

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