What other teams are you interested in watching in 2019-20?

[jukon]

So last year I was mostly watching Winnipeg because they had a lot of things I wished the Oilers had, but with the departures of Hayes, Tanev, Trouba, Myers and Chiarot they have tough shoes to fill if they expect to still be cup contenders.

I was thinking that it would be cool to watch Krueger's return to the NHL, but I don't know if watching Buffalo will give me any less disappointment than watching the Oilers. Watching Anahiem could be interesting just for the pure comedy of Mr Hair, but I'm too scarred to actually consider it.

Other than the Oilers (or instead of in some cases), what NHL teams are you most interested to watch next season and why?

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[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

Since I spent a lot of time in Phoenix and always bought a mini pack of tickets I always like to watch Phoenix and Winnipeg along with Boston are other teams I’ll try to watch.

That said I’m an NHL Junkie and have the NHL Center Ice package and will typically watch 2 games per night and love the weekends when they start games at 11 AM and end at 11 PM and you can get 4 games in!

 

[LaGu]

I have always seen an unhealthy amount of NJD, Boston and Rangers games because they play lots of early games which is good for us in Europe. This year it will be pretty fun to follow all of these teams I think.

For the Rangers, Panarin - Zibanejad - Kakko could be a very dangerous 1st line and fun to watch.
Bruins are always a good watch.
The Devils with Hall and PK will be more interesting than they have been in years.

 

[McShogun99]

I don’t watch other teams because I don’t like watching proper special teams, defence or team effort.

 

[CupofOil]

Devils without a doubt. I live in the area too so I'm planning on heading out to The Rock to watch a few games.
I already have my Oilers-Rangers tickets locked in. The Rangers will be another must watch team.

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

Always enjoy watching the islanders for some reason.

 

[Konami McDavid]

I want to watch all of them ... lose to the Oilers.

Dream? yes, but it is my honest answer.

 

[poolparty98]

Any team playing the Leafs or Flames.

 

[joestevens29]

I think one team I'm interested to follow is the Blues.

Team was damn near blown up before x-mas and went on to win the cup. Can Berube keep them motivated for longer than a year or is a one hit wonder?

Also curious to see how the CBJ castaways do. Duchene is really the only one to me that is going to a better situation(team wise, not life wise). However, I do wonder how it all turns out for these guys. Would they be better off staying in CBJ or do they find success on their new clubs.

 

[Drivesaitl]

I think one team I'm interested to follow is the Blues.

Team was damn near blown up before x-mas and went on to win the cup. Can Berube keep them motivated for longer than a year or is a one hit wonder?

Also curious to see how the CBJ castaways do. Duchene is really the only one to me that is going to a better situation(team wise, not life wise). However, I do wonder how it all turns out for these guys. Would they be better off staying in CBJ or do they find success on their new clubs.

The Blues win, as much as I loved the Canadian quota of it, and the Canadian style of play of it is probably a one off. Pieces falling in the right order at the right time, and largely similar to our 2006 Oilers run. Sometimes the team is there, then some additions and it just glues together at the right time and with everybody playing for each other.

 

[joestevens29]

The Blues win, as much as I loved the Canadian quota of it, and the Canadian style of play of it is probably a one off. Pieces falling in the right order at the right time, and largely similar to our 2006 Oilers run. Sometimes the team is there, then some additions and it just glues together at the right time and with everybody playing for each other.

The only real thing they did was change the coaching, which makes Yeo look so bad that he couldn't get more out of a Stanley Cup calibre team.

 

[Bring Back Bucky]

I ain’t interested in NONE of em. I have literally gotten to the point that I only watch Oilers games.

 

[Drivesaitl]

The only real thing they did was change the coaching, which makes Yeo look so bad that he couldn't get more out of a Stanley Cup calibre team.

I don't agree, because the Blues made several changes to come up with the 2018-19 roster.

Additions like ROR, Schenn, Maroon, Perron made a lot of sense. If a team could get to the playoffs these players are established difference makers in playoffs. These all being players with a physical edge that can increase their level of play in the playoffs.

Binnington was also key, and coming in as a quasi Ken Dryden or young Patrick Roy type of hot start. Young upcoming goalies are always dangerous because no book really exists on them. I suspect Binnington will be outed in time, and is nowhere near the quality that Dryden or Roy were in their time, but he was good enough to get the Blues results in this time frame, and better than what they had.

That said the coaching difference was huge, agree entirely there, and this is a case of the right coach fitting the right squad. Berube may not do well everywhere. But a Brind'Amour or Berube type was right for the Blues present team. The Blues didn't ignite as their lineup was not properly realized until Berube came on the scene.

 

[joestevens29]

I don't agree, because the Blues made several changes to come up with the 2018-19 roster.

Additions like ROR, Schenn, Maroon, Perron made a lot of sense. If a team could get to the playoffs these players are established difference makers in playoffs. These all being players with a physical edge that can increase their level of play in the playoffs.

Binnington was also key, and coming in as a quasi Ken Dryden or young Patrick Roy type of hot start. Young upcoming goalies are always dangerous because no book really exists on them. I suspect Binnington will be outed in time, and is nowhere near the quality that Dryden or Roy were in their time, but he was good enough to get the Blues results in this time frame, and better than what they had.

That said the coaching difference was huge, agree entirely there, and this is a case of the right coach fitting the right squad. Berube may not do well everywhere. But a Brind'Amour or Berube type was right for the Blues present team. The Blues didn't ignite as their lineup was not properly realized until Berube came on the scene.

None of those adjustments came mid-seasons though. They were all done before the year started.

 

[Drivesaitl]

None of those adjustments came mid-seasons though. They were all done before the year started.

it doesn't really matter. All those additions were key, but they were not utilized until the coaching change which made proper use of those improvements.

Heres a strange analogy.

You get a lot of work done on your engine. New timing chain, new camshaft, cleaned out engine block, but you don't change out old spark plugs...

The coaching change was clearly the catalyst, neither of us are arguing that, but the ingredients were already there to have this team purring like a finely tuned engine.

The Blues lineup was perfect to lean on teams in the playoffs and they got better in each series, as they progressed and opponents tired. Berube was a fine coach to realize that potential.

 

[Temm]

I'm also interested in the Penguins.
Why?

Crosby, and...
Blueger!

I saw this fellow once in Calgary when the WJHC was there playing for Latvia. He impressed me then, working hard and being near the puck no matter where is was on the ice. Now he has worked very hard to get a Penguins contract despite the Penguins signing center after center and seemingly trying to bury him. I think he'll stick this season and am looking forward to see how he'll do.

 

[Todd from Leduc]

I’m looking forward to watching Tampa as I have a feeling we will be playing them in the finals.

 

[ohheyhemsky]

I'm not interested in watching other teams, but I'm interested in the idea of watching other teams fail. I'd love to watch the Leafs or Calgary just bomb it. Does that count?

That counts.

 

[Aerchon]

Devils will be interesting. They improved a lot.

Calgary to hopefully watch them come back down to earth. Not a great team on paper.

Vancouver because they have a lot of young talent.

Dallas because they have a decent team on paper that I always think will be better than they were last year.

Another year where Tampa should do serious damage. Although that doesn't interest me enough to watch them personally.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

The only real thing they did was change the coaching, which makes Yeo look so bad that he couldn't get more out of a Stanley Cup calibre team.

Not really the case. They also brought in Binnington as well as Pietrangelo and Bouwmerster got healthy. Amazing how a coach can look like a genius when the team gets quality goaltending and has an NHL defence. They also gave a more prominent role to several younger players and sat guys like Fabbri making a stronger bottom 6.

 

[tempest186]

Blackhawks

 

[Tad Mikowsky]

The Devils because of Hall.

 

[thadd]

Lightning, Leafs, Jets and Caps.

 

[Jumptheshark]

cardiff devils or the Belfast Giants

 

[ujju2]

Caps, as always.