NHL General Discussion

[Eli26]

And FYI I am hoping for Ovie to win this, but c'mon man.

 

[Grenouille]

Lars Eller is going replay that one in his head for a long time. I hope there's another 6 like this one.

 

[filip629]

What a game. Some sloppy coverage around the net cost both teams goals. But man, there was no quit by either team. What a great game one. If this keeps up, we are in for one hell of a series.

 

[Eli26]

Wait, how did I post in the NHL 2011/12 thread?! lol

 

[KitFisto]

Wait, so everytime your team wins. It's your team. When the other team wins, it's the NHL... it's rigged. It's fixed! Nice and convenient logic... lol

I've felt this way since the draft. The rules were changed to make Vegas good right off the bat. It sure worked didn't it? An expansion team winning a title year one in ANY sport is a joke! McPhee is an average GM and his 16 years in Washington proved it. It's not tough to build a team when taking everyone else's talent and especially when the rules are changed from previous expansion drafts to benefit you.

 

[Eli26]

I've felt this way since the draft. The rules were changed to make Vegas good right off the bat. It sure worked didn't it? An expansion team winning a title year one in ANY sport is a joke! McPhee is an average GM and his 16 years in Washington proved it. It's not tough to build a team when taking everyone else's talent and especially when the rules are changed from previous expansion drafts to benefit you.

If you had read my post a page back, it explains all of this. Yes, I know it's long, because it can't be explained in one sentence, but here I go again and will change some of the dialogue... You charge a group $500m for a team, the structure of the expansion draft should change with it. $17 million USD is what each team got from that buy in. That is seven times more than what the previous expansion team, the Columbus Blue Jackets paid out. So yeah, with the difference in cost, it's easy to see why a Las Vegas or any new market like it are afforded the opportunity to have more play this time-around than any other expansion draft previous from it. Again, this was voted by the NHL teams.

But here's the thing, not you, myself, or anyone saw this play out. So this is why this whole conversation annoys me. Sure, there were a few good picks like Marchessault, Neal, Tuch, Theodore, Schmidt, and Fleury.

But let's see... March was coming off of one season of 31 goals and -21 and was 26... before that he was an AHLer lifer. James Neal is a guy who only produces well around good-to-great talent who has difficulty driving the play on his own. So he's a complimentary guy. R. Smith had an ugly contract for a guy who had 37 points, and why Florida made a deal if Vegas takes Smith, they can also have March to relieve them from what they felt at the time was an ugly contract. Also, Vegas doesn't take Smith in any other scenario. Perron wasn't showing anywhere what he did this past season. William Karlsson was exposed, but not because the team wanted to get rid of him, but because they had to expose guys. Don't tell me you or anyone predicted this kind of season out of William. He had 6 goals and 25 points. Nobody in NHL history has made that jump. Even his AHL totals didn't give an indication that he was this (61-10-23-33), nor did his production in Sweden. Marc-Andre Fleury was constantly disrespected, even called a goalie who benefited from playing with Pittsburgh and how mediocre he was. Lots of ignorant fans that didn't get it. Fleury posted a 3.09 GAA last season because he struggled off the bat knowing that last season would be his last in Pittsburgh. A place where he spent half of his life, made a family, where his children were born... much like why Matt Murray is struggling this past season. Found out his dad was dying, then his dad died.

My point is, six-to-seven months ago, nobody expected this from the team. So let's stop with the idea that the NHL gifted the Vegas Golden Knights. A lot of us didn't like a lot of the choices that they made. There were guys on teams that were exposed that us, the fans, and media felt were better picks on those teams in the expansion drafts. Heck, Vadim Shipachyov, was slotted in the top-six at one point, one who had no NHL experience, because nobody knew how good or bad Vegas would be. They even signed this 30-year-old Russian with zero NHL experience to a big contract worth over 4 million. You don't sign a guy to that contract unless you have a feeling he could be a good player in this league and be one of your core players. One of your top-end guys. That didn't play out. Vegas was already looking like the laughing stock of the league, and George McPhee the brain child behind all of this, was front and center, with the ridicules, especially coming from the perspective, this is the same guy who traded a top draft talent in Filip Forsberg for a bottom-sixer, Martin Erat. When they sent Vadim home packing, despite his big Summer contract signing, it further pushed the idea McPhee didn't know what he was doing.. and that was just this last Fall. He was perceived as an idiot. Fast-forward and now we speak as if the guy is an idiot savant, and will most likely win the Builder Award this year as the best GM.

There are so many reasons why the whole it's rigged or that the NHL made it "too easy" for Vegas doesn't hold up for me. Did this expansion draft set up work to the new team's favour, more than any expansion draft before it? Absolutely! It had to when you consider the monumental cost to buy-in a team now. It's a big selling point to bring a new NHL team in. Also, even if the NHL predicted this outcome, which I find that hard to believe, what's wrong with a team finding success right off the bat vs. toiling away trying to find its fanbase. That's just good business what is happening now, and while Vegas was given every opportunity that they had to build the team they had. Nobody saw this outcome. Convenient how people are singing a different tune, now this is the reality that played out.

 

[ebor]

ugh too much to read, but go Vegas Go!

 

[Eli26]

Ebor, it does explain a lot and tries to shut down the conspiracy theorist. Skim through it. Point is, too many mouth breathers for this to be rigged like a fixed election or fight. And fans at the beginning of the season made fun of McPhee's choices at the beginning of the season, saying he could have done better in the player selection process... and because of that, they would do bad. Fast forward several months later, and now those same people are flipping from that opinion and saying it should be obvious why they are this good, because the NHL fixed it for them and gave them one of the best teams to build with great players. It's very convenient. Especially when your team loses. But interestingly enough, it isn't the first we have heard this. During the Penguin Cup wins I had to hear how it was uncle Gary. How every year a Canadian team loses it in the Final, it's a conspiracy and the NHL rather see a USA team win. Well, if it's so fixed, then why the **** are we following? And why haven't those fixes come out? With that many moving parts and people-in-the-know, we would have heard something about now. LOL

That being said, I am not saying favours/directions aren't pushed or manipulated with officiating. But then again, every team and fanbase can say that has happened to them. Bad penalties called against them or no penalties called on the other team, when it's blatantly obvious, one should have been called.

 

[ebor]

I was just joshing Eli your post has many valid points. I think there is quite a bit of parity in the league. You get to the play-offs--you have a hot goalie, good D, solid penalty kill, and hell just plain grit and anything can happen. I don't buy into conspiracy theories anyways.

 

[KitFisto]

Caps luck continues. They won, but if Kuzy is done then we're F'ed.

 

[filip629]

All notched up. What a save by Holtby late in the 3rd.

 

[Eli26]

Yeah that save on Tuch...

 

[Eli26]

So Caps have home advantage and series is tied. Kit's gotta like that.

 

[KitFisto]

So Caps have home advantage and series is tied. Kit's gotta like that.

Won't matter if Kuzy can't go. Praying he's ok. He's at the optional morning skate today and hopefully will be at the afternoon practice.

And the Caps are 4-5 at home in the playoffs. They HAVE to win these next 2.

 

[KitFisto]

Huge win last night. Need game 4 too!

 

[filip629]

Last night was the best game the Caps played in the Finals. They were dominant. If Holtby doesn't have that turnover at the net, he could've had a shut out. That said, the post was his friend quite a few times last night. Either way, if the Caps keep playing like they did last night, things can get ugly for Vegas pretty quickly. Vegas has to win game 4 to stay in the series.

 

[Deeznutz6]

Like I said Caps in 6

 

[KitFisto]

Like I said Caps in 6

We'll see. I hope it's in 5 or 6 lol.

 

[guyver1]

Most pathetic finals matchup in history

 

[Deeznutz6]

Most pathetic finals matchup in history

Why? It's been up and down hockey with hitting and scoring, I have no horse in this race and have enjoyed what I've seen