Down Goes Brown with his Cup prospects

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Stanley Cup Prospects, Part 1: The Bottom Line

Stanley Cup Prospects, Part 2: The Parity Patrol

/Part 3 will be out tomorrow.

Edit: And here it is...

Stanley Cup Prospects, Part 3: The Contenders

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

He's giving Edmonton and Buffalo a lot of credit here that I just don't think is merited. I don't give a fuck if you gave them prime Gretzky right now, how are they anywhere near closer to a Cup in the next 5 years than Calgary are? Or even LA or Winnipeg or Columbus, for that matter?

 

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I do like the moves Buffalo have made and I think they'll be in the hunt for a playoff spot in the East this season. Not saying they're a shoo-in for the post-season, though. I can't say the same for the Oilers this season, even a 20 point improvement would only net them 82 points which is a far cry from the playoffs in the West.

 

[tducey]

Buffalo will be much improved this year, don't think they make the playoffs though.

 

[DragonfromTO]

I do like the moves Buffalo have made and I think they'll be in the hunt for a playoff spot in the East this season. Not saying they're a shoo-in for the post-season, though. I can't say the same for the Oilers this season, even a 20 point improvement would only net them 82 points which is a far cry from the playoffs in the West.

But Buffalo could make twice as big an improvement and still miss the playoffs (they missed by 44 points last year). I expect them to be better, but people seem to be really underestimating just how bad they were last year.

 

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But Buffalo could make twice as big an improvement and still miss the playoffs (they missed by 44 points last year). I expect them to be better, but people seem to be really underestimating just how bad they were last year.

They need a guy like Brian Bollig to put them over the top.



Edit: Or even Brandon Bollig (lol)

 

[KennyBanyeah]

This is pretty bad. I mean how can you justify the Bruins that high? Higher than Nashville, who has 2, possibly 3, #1 D-men, a prime goalie, a budding elite scorer and a good track record of development?

Higher than Philly who has a top 5 C, a top scoring power forward and is really strong down the middle?

I'd honestly put Boston in the bottom 5.

Minnesota is pretty hard to justify over some of the young teams below them too? They are in win now mode and aren't winning. I'd put the Panthers, Sens and probably even the Leafs with a better chance in the next 5 years than the Wild.

And the Stars??? HAHAHAHA

 

[dash]

Just wait Kenny, part 3 (A New Hope) promises to deliver more comedy.

Edit: By process of elimination, here are the top 10 teams in alphabetical order:

• Anaheim
• Buffalo
• Chicago
• Edmonton
• Montréal
• NY Islanders
• NY Rangers
• Pittsburgh
• Tampa Bay
• Washington

 

[Puck082]

Just wait Kenny, part 3 (A New Hope) promises to deliver more comedy.

Edit: By process of elimination, here are the top 10 teams in alphabetical order:

• Anaheim
• Buffalo
• Chicago
• Edmonton
• Montréal
• NY Islanders
• NY Rangers
• Pittsburgh
• Tampa Bay
• Washington

That's a helluva jump by Buffalo and Edmonton. If I had to guess, bottom 4 are Buffalo, Edmonton, Pittsburgh, Isles??

 

[DragonfromTO]

They need a guy like Brian Bollig to put them over the top.

He's the only guy that can deal with Griffin Reinhart

 

[pixburgher66]

Buffalo and Edmonton in the top 5 is putting a lot of faith in them making big moves over the next few years. That's feasible I suppose, but I don't think it's probable enough for me to put 'em in the top 10. Other wise, those top 10 are pretty safe picks.

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

In DGB's defence, he tweeted beforehand that this was going to be a list that would generate a lot of heated opinion.

I think the problem is I (and others, apparently) simply am not seeing what possible criteria he could have used for some of these rankings. Both Edmonton and Buffalo are in the top ten despite the fact neither has either a defensive corps that is sure to become amongst the game's best (a must for Cup winners these days) nor a sure thing in goal. Montreal is in the top ten despite the fact they are a sure thing in goal and almost nowhere else. The Rangers have so much money tied up and no assets to move that they are no different than Minnesota in effect. It's just so all over the place.

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

Minnesota is pretty hard to justify over some of the young teams below them too? They are in win now mode and aren't winning. I'd put the Panthers, Sens and probably even the Leafs with a better chance in the next 5 years than the Wild.

And the Stars??? HAHAHAHA

That's a bit of a stretch. Leafs won't be winning a Cup in the next five years unless both all of their prospects pan out (they likely won't) and they manage to sign 2 or 3 superstars (they almost assuredly won't). I think they're contending or close to it in 5 years, but not winning anything yet.

I'm not sold on the Panthers. Booby is 36, their defence is Ekblad and a bunch of young players who haven't exactly lived up to the hype (Kulikov, Gudbranson) along with vets nearing the end, and the offence is totally reliant on Barkov, Hoobeedoo and Bjugstad continuing to improve. It's still a team that needs a lot of work. They're probably too low, but I wouldn't place them much higher.

The Sens have a chance. If things continue where they left off (and Bobby Ryan figures out how to score again) they could even contend for top in the East this season.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

Just wait Kenny, part 3 (A New Hope) promises to deliver more comedy.

Edit: By process of elimination, here are the top 10 teams in alphabetical order:

• Anaheim
• Buffalo
• Chicago
• Edmonton
• Montréal
• NY Islanders
• NY Rangers
• Pittsburgh
• Tampa Bay
• Washington

The Islanders in the top 10? I think they could be good, but they still have a lot of young guys who haven't even won a playoff series yet.

As for Dallas I think if they can get their goaltending situation worked out & Seguin stays healthy they can make the playoffs.

The Blue Jackets are my darkhorse team. Heck, I don't even think they're a darkhorse. If they stay healthy they make the playoffs & could make some noise if they get their to.

 

[forty_three]

Just wait Kenny, part 3 (A New Hope) promises to deliver more comedy.

Edit: By process of elimination, here are the top 10 teams in alphabetical order:

• Anaheim
• Buffalo
• Chicago
• Edmonton
• Montréal
• NY Islanders
• NY Rangers
• Pittsburgh
• Tampa Bay
• Washington

I am somewhat comfortable with where he placed the Jackets (mainly because I like when people underestimate them), but there is no way that the others in the Metro (Pitt, NYR, Isles, and Caps) have such significantly better prospects. Any of those teams, with things going right at the right time, can do serious damage. Conversely, each team has one thing (or more) that if it goes wrong, they could sink fast because the division is so good. MAF Flakes out, Young Caps sophomore jinx, Injury Bug, etc. Pitt and NYR are tops, but Isles, Jackets and Caps are really close, IMO.

And Philly is turning the right way too. Yay us with fucking rock solid divisions.

Buffalo and Edmonton better poised? I think not. I'd be more scared of playing Buffalo than Edmonton.

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

The Islanders in the top 10? I think they could be good, but they still have a lot of young guys who haven't even won a playoff series yet.

As for Dallas I think if they can get their goaltending situation worked out & Seguin stays healthy they can make the playoffs.

The Blue Jackets are my darkhorse team. Heck, I don't even think they're a darkhorse. If they stay healthy they make the playoffs & could make some noise if they get their to.

My hesitation on Columbus is that they are relying a lot on players who are exiting their primes and are locked in to long, pricey contracts. Moving those guys will be tough and the young players entering their primes looking for lucrative extensions might become collateral damage, thus costing Columbus the possibility of hoisting the Cup.

 

[forty_three]

My hesitation on Columbus is that they are relying a lot on players who are exiting their primes and are locked in to long, pricey contracts. Moving those guys will be tough and the young players entering their primes looking for lucrative extensions might become collateral damage, thus costing Columbus the possibility of hoisting the Cup.

I just have to hope that Jarmo has patience and Dano is the last potential stud he moves before then. Without any adds, the roster in three - four years could be:

Bjorkstrand - Johansen - Saad
Jenner - Wennberg - Milano
Rychel - Karlsson- Bittner/Anderson
Foligno - Dubinski - Clarkson/Hartnell

Murray - Werenski
Prout - Savard
Heatherington - Paliotta
Carlsson

Bob
Forsberg

Bourque, Boll, Campbell will be gone to UFA (6.3m combined), Goloubef too unless he wants to stay. Johnson, Tyutin, Atkinson and Calvert in UFA year in 18. And Clarkson will be down to two years left on his stupid deal. Maybe by then someone will want him.

Fingers Crossed.

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

I just have to hope that Jarmo has patience and Dano is the last potential stud he moves before then. Without any adds, the roster in three - four years could be:

Bjorkstrand - Johansen - Saad
Jenner - Wennberg - Milano
Rychel - Karlsson- Bittner/Anderson
Foligno - Dubinski - Clarkson/Hartnell

Murray - Werenski
Prout - Savard
Heatherington - Paliotta
Carlsson

Bob
Forsberg

Bourque, Boll, Campbell will be gone to UFA (6.3m combined), Goloubef too unless he wants to stay. Johnson, Tyutin, Atkinson and Calvert in UFA year in 18. And Clarkson will be down to two years left on his stupid deal. Maybe by then someone will want him.

Fingers Crossed.

The thing is, that's a $22 million 4th line. Even if in 5 years the cap has gone up to $80 mil (and with the current condition of the Loonie that's no sure bet) that is a fucking enormous sum for 6 minutes a game.

Then there's player growth - Johansen, Saad, Jenner and Wennberg are the only players of the 10 guys you named in your potential top 9 that have played anything close to a full season's worth of games in the NHL thus far. The others are promising, sure, but the likelihood that all 5 of them become top 9 guys on a Cup team aren't that great. I mean, has there ever been a team that's won a cup where 7 of their top 9 were homegrown? Not to mention 5 of their top 6 d-men?

I think there's a very good chance Columbus is a killer team for years. I also think there's a very good chance they peak early, get bogged down by contracts and are forced into moves the GM can't possibly come out on top on. So yeah, where they're ranked is pretty much where they belong. They're for sure in that 2/3.

 

[sabresfaninthesouth]

The big difference between Buffalo and some of the others like Columbus is money.

Obviously it didn't work out for them last time they tried to buy a Cup, but with a massively wealthy owner who is completely content (so he says at least) to lose money on the team if it means winning a Cup, they can afford to spend to the limit every year when the time comes. And unlike some of the other teams who have been struggling with mediocrity or worse for years, despite spending the money (Philly, I'm looking at you) they went all in on the rebuild.

And surprisingly, they've got very few bad contracts on the books. Clearly they overpaid RoR, and I wasn't a fan of the term on the Moulson deal, but I think they've only got a total of 4 contracts with 3 or more years remaining on them (plus a few years from the CoHo buyout), so they'll have a ton of space to sign Eichel to a massive extension (assuming he develops as expected), resign the other young guys like Ristolainen and Girgensons, and sign a few key free agent pieces.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

I know he's usually not too serious and the Devils likely won't do much this season but to say they are old shows that he is misinformed. Elias is the only guy over 35, Cammalleri is 33, Greene, Tooto and Ruutu are 32. That's pretty much all the "old" guys.

And as he mentions in his write up, it's tough to pick a team with a top 5 goaltender to finish worst in the league.