NHL 2011-2012 Season

[The Craw]

i'd rather play in florida or california where it is warm and you can actually win the cup once in a while. Those Canadian teams may have a strong fanbase, but they all must be cursed. they haven't won a cup since the Habs did about 20 years a go.

 

[The Ringer]

Cup stays in the USA!

 

[Voorhees27]

Oilers with 6 in a row. Khabi with his second shutout of the season

Are you as shocked as I am? I'm loving it though, we're #1 in the west right now.

 

[CriterionCollector]

i remember the Maple Leafs last year. great first month and then they went downhill from there. but they are playing awesome. i have to give them that.

as for the Blue Jackets, have they ever made the playoffs in their entire existence?? how can you be consistantly bad for 10 years straight in a league with a salary cap??

Jackets were in the playoffs I believe in 08-09 or 09-10. They got swept in the first round by the Wings.

It's not a matter of being bad for 10 years and a salary cap etc, etc.
It's the team culture and the GM/Front Office's ability to be able to address those needs.
It's kind of the same thing that the Rangers have done with Sather as GM. He's been continously trying to recapture his days as the Oiler's head coach during their dynasty in the 80's. He signs all these big names, gets a lot of flash, but there is no sense of team there.

If you want to see a team that is run really well from the ground up then look no further then the Predators. They're in a tough division with Detroit and Chicago, yet they continously make the playoffs with no real big stars on their roster and they've had the same coach since their inception.

 

[CriterionCollector]

Are you as shocked as I am? I'm loving it though, we're #1 in the west right now.

Good looking out for the Oilers. Everyone seems to gloss over the fact that they almost won the Stanley Cup in 05-06. They're truly going to be a threat in the near future.

 

[Voorhees27]

Good looking out for the Oilers. Everyone seems to gloss over the fact that they almost won the Stanley Cup in 05-06. They're truly going to be a threat in the near future.

Why you gotta bring up old ____?

 

[Custo]

Are you as shocked as I am? I'm loving it though, we're #1 in the west right now.

Yes . I remember last year they were BORING to watch. Always dumping and chasing and being last to the puck. Gotta say its alot more entertaining this year.

 

[bumblebee]

Caps looked good again last night.

 

[Eli26]

i'd rather play in florida or california where it is warm and you can actually win the cup once in a while. Those Canadian teams may have a strong fanbase, but they all must be cursed. they haven't won a cup since the Habs did about 20 years a go.

Ignorance is bliss Craw. Doesn't help that 67 percent of the teams are down in the States and that the league doesn't want to see a Canadian team win a Stanley Cup. They know we have the strong fan bases regardless. They want an American city to win it to help that market out. Case in point: Calgary/Tampa Bay 2004 Cup Final. The Flames goal which was legal was called off and should have won them the Cup. Biggest BS call ever. The NHL wanted to see a TB win all along, because at the end of the day, people in Calgary would still go to hockey games. TB only gets its fans if they win something big like a Cup. Take them out of the playoffs and lets see how many people give a crap.

 

[Eli26]

Jackets were in the playoffs I believe in 08-09 or 09-10. They got swept in the first round by the Wings.

It's not a matter of being bad for 10 years and a salary cap etc, etc.
It's the team culture and the GM/Front Office's ability to be able to address those needs.
It's kind of the same thing that the Rangers have done with Sather as GM. He's been continously trying to recapture his days as the Oiler's head coach during their dynasty in the 80's. He signs all these big names, gets a lot of flash, but there is no sense of team there.

If you want to see a team that is run really well from the ground up then look no further then the Predators. They're in a tough division with Detroit and Chicago, yet they continously make the playoffs with no real big stars on their roster and they've had the same coach since their inception.

The big thing about the Rangers pre-2004/05 lockout days, is they didn't draft/maintain a good primary core like the Detroit RedWings did, and sign star talent around that ever building primary core that was built up through years of drafting and developing guys from within the organization. Nashville has looked within vs. looking out. Majority of their team is built through the draft and player development. Most Stanley Cup winning teams are built like that. Pittsburgh and Chicago are two prime examples of that. As are the Boston Bruins.

Rangers failed to do that in the pre-lockout Sather days. They signed as many "me" superstars as they could and hope that they meshed well together because of their big names. Didn't work, because these guys didn't have the years of familiarity and were already banking big coin, so it was like, what is there to prove? Besides having a bunch of big-headed show boaters. Now the Rangers are built the proper way, as they had to due to the newly implemented salary cap, which started in 05/06. The team went from not making the playoffs for seven straight years to actually being a playoff contender pretty much every season post-lock out. That's because they actually have a properly drafted and developed core to the team.

 

[Eli26]

Are you as shocked as I am? I'm loving it though, we're #1 in the west right now.

I'm not! You guys are following a path no different than what the Penguins and the Hawks did. You have been a basement dweller for many years now, thus accumulating top picks for stretches of years. You should have a great team!

But their primary star players are still too young. Nugent being 18, Hall 19, and Elberle being 21. This is a team that also has very little veteran leadership. I see them falling flat soon. NHL season is like a marathon. When I run a marathon I keep a steady pace to make sure I do not endure potential burn out. To the untrained runner who is running their first marathon race (this especially goes for the youngsters), they go all guns-a-blazing, and then burn out after mile two or three. While they may be quite a ways ahead, my steady good pace due to continuous years of rigorous training has me beat those premature blazers at the finish line. Look at the Winnipeg Jets/Atlanta Thrashers of last season. On pace for a 100 point season 41 games in (half-way point) and good for first in their Division. What happened? They faltered in the second half and didn't make the playoffs. They were too young and inexperienced.

I believe this Edmonton Oilers team will be great and I'll go as far as saying even become a Stanley Cup contender in the near foreseeable future, but I just am not sure if they can keep this up. I mean, Khabby with a 0.98 GAA through 8 starts? Really? REALLY?!

But it's nice to see the nice start for you guys. Definitely Edmonton and Winnipeg hockey fans have a lot to be excited about right now.

*looks at the Calgary Flames fans and snickers* Their top superstar is going to be 35 next year and their top prospect last year was T.J. Brodie. Bwahahahaha!

 

[Voorhees27]

Well said, Eli. But keep in mind the lack of veteran leadership is the reason they brought Smyth back this season. He's leading the team in points (or off by one) and imo has what it takes to keep our team intact. IF they can stay healthy it should be a hell of a season. The key word here is healthy!

Btw I LOVE the new look of the Jets. Just awesome.

 

[The Craw]

anybody see Duchene's Hattrick goal last night.

https://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=35&id=132941

 

[BuffBuff]

I can't believe Boston is thrashing the Leafs 5-0 right now...




i just can't believe it...

 

[Grenouille]

Quite the homecoming for Tyler Seguin.

Hopefully this is the start of the complete turnaround for your Stanley Cup champs.

 

[The Ringer]

yeah man the leafs whooping that ass....................................

 

[CriterionCollector]

Why you gotta bring up old ____?

Hey, I was all in for the Oilers to win the cup in 05-06. They're probably my favorite Western Conference club.

 

[Custo]

Oilers win streak ended. However they did make a nice push in the third.

 

[HeadlessGree]

Quite the homecoming for Tyler Seguin.

Hopefully this is the start of the complete turnaround for your Stanley Cup champs.

I think he might be having a sophomore coming out party. Now lets see if we can follow it up with a win against NYI tonight

 

[Grenouille]

I think he might be having a sophomore coming out party. Now lets see if we can follow it up with a win against NYI tonight

Well, I'd say they did quite well tonight. It was nice to see them finally play a complete game with Rask in net.